The Magus Society: The Civil War
by Sryen
Summary: After a few misconceptions and mistakes, Falador officially declared war against Varrock. The war has been going on for over a year now, and Varrock is getting desperate.
1. Chapter 1: All Is Not Lost

_New __story,__ and my first on this site._

**Chapter 1: All is ****Not**** Lost**

James opened his eyes as sunlight flooded in through the window. He quickly closed them again tight to give himself time to adjust. He had overslept by a long shot. He was supposed to get before dawn and start the day. Why his father didn't wake him up, he didn't know.

"James! Ye' slept in didn't ya! Get to work; you'll be working your fingers raw today."

"I'm already awake, I'll be right there," he yelled back, frustrated, even if it was his fault. He climbed out of bed and began to get dressed. After letting out a large yawn and one look out the window, he ran down the stairs to see his father.

Breakfast was already laid out for him, two eggs and a small piece of chicken. His father had prepared it. His mother died of illness not long after he was born, and since he was the first child, it was only he and his dad on the farm, which made things difficult. His father had gotten on in his years and James ended up doing most of the work. He didn't mind though, his father was kind and gentle, most of the time, and he was always a great man, it was the least James could do to help out.

After he had worked well into the afternoon he heard the voice of his father call out, "James, t'ere's a man here who wans a see you, ge' over 'ere."

James was very surprised; there was never a visitor for him. He ran back home with his bucket of water only half full, splashing everywhere as he went. When he finally got home he heard the man who was visiting and his father talking. He decided not to go inside just yet but crept around the side of the yard and looked through the window. He could just make out their voices from inside.

"It's only for a few years, at the most. If he accomplishes the mission, he'll be back in a few weeks time!"

"I've heard of those special missions, always more dangerous then being in the frontlines of a whole battle. Fin'shing the war in a few weeks time, I ask you?! Why him, he's not even experienced?"

"We need him because we need as many as we can get. Ah, there he is now," said the man who was talking to James's father. He was clad in full steel armor and had a large scabbard on his belt. In his hand was a piece of parchment, probably the royal seal from the King of Varrock himself. This man was very proper compared to his father, who spoke with the accent around the rural parts. James had lost track of mind, imagining his Dad in the big city, when he was jolted back to reality. "Why don't you come inside instead of spying on us through the window?"

James froze, they saw him! Even worse, they were talking about the war, and from the looks of it he would have to join the Varrock army. Falador and Varrock were fighting for power and both sides were going around recruiting people. This man definitely wanted him to join the army. He would rather fight for Falador, they're more likely to win, but he has no choice in the matter.

James slowly walked into his house and put the bucket down on the table. He first gazed at his father, who couldn't even look at him. Crystal tears formed at his eyes. He then looked at the man in armor, who didn't look fazed at all; he had probably recruited more people like him. All of the people he knew had already been taken off and probably slain in battle.

"James Farmer I presume?" said the man. James slowly nodded his head. "Good, you're coming with me, Varrock needs more men, and since Varrock controls this land, we also have all the right to any able bodied men here."

"What about the Duke, doesn't he decide anything?" asked James. Varrock was almost sure to lose this war, meaning he was almost sure to die.

"The Duke is appointed by Roald, meaning he doesn't have a say in anything if the king wished otherwise. You and four other boys are to come with me; we continue on to Draynor, hopefully to recruit a few more men. Pack you things, but pack lightly, you'll be provided with provisions and a weapon, only pack the things of utmost importance."

"Then I'm ready, I have nothing I need to bring. Let's go," he said reluctantly. He had a feeling he was walking to his death. As they walked out the door James could hear his father weeping, he didn't have to heart to look back at him.

It was silent as the caravan rolled down the road. None of the other boys even tried to speak. Mark and Merk, who were twins, sat at the back and looked out, waving good bye to their family and friends. They were both rather tall, and both had dark brown hair, but other than that looked nothing the same. Mark's face was lined with freckles, while Merk had a slightly darker complexion. They were both eighteen though, the same age as James. They were laughing and smiling, almost as if they thought this was a joke.

Across from James was Sakir. He was from desert so he was darker skinned. He had heard that the desert was allied with Varrock but he didn't expect to fight along side someone from Al Kharid. He was probably somewhere in his twenties and looked much stronger than the others. He was polishing a steel battleaxe, humming a tune from his homeland. He must have been one of the Al Kharid Royal guards. At the front of the caravan was Haddlin. He was an archer, and loved knowledge. He probably could've been a mage as well, but when James asked him about that he said it didn't interest him, no skill. You just hold rocks and say a few words. He was talking to the man in armor, whose name was Danik, about the battle situation, and where they would be attacking. That didn't interest James though; he didn't want to think of a battle at all.

"You're the new guy aren't you?" Sakir asked James.

"We all seem to be new, except for you."

"I wouldn't say that. I am one of the guards at the palace, I obviously know how to use a weapon well. Mark and Merk are traveling merchants, it would be unwise to travel abroad without any knowledge of how to protect yourself, and Haddlin is only here because he had just enlisted in the royal guard of Lumbridge. You on the other hand, you can probably plow better then us," with this he chuckled, "but you won't last long in a fight."

James thought about this. Sakir was probably right; everyone was probably more experienced than him at the moment. How was he supposed to keep up? He already figured that they were supposed to be a small unit. The caravan wouldn't hold many more people, and they wouldn't find many in Draynor, who were trying to keep themselves neutral. The Faladorians also outnumbered them greatly, and their battle tactics were far superior. We did have more resources though, the dwarves were on they're side, which was good. At least, that's what he could hear from Haddlin and Danik, assuming they were right.

"Sakir I wanted to ask you something, could you teach me how to fight. Danik gave me a sword, not a battleaxe, but I'd still like you to teach me something."

"Sure, I'll teach you a little when we stop at Draynor. I could probably teach you a little now. First thing, whenever you fight an opponent, especially one in armor, inspect the enemy, find all the weak points. In a one on one fight, neither person is eager to make the first move, so you usually have time to do this. If you've seen him or someone like him fight before, study their attack pattern. It can mean the difference between life and death. Lastly, never let your guard down; make sure your opponent is completely finished off before you even think about relaxing."

James now sighed. There was no way he would be able to do this while his life was in danger, he probably couldn't even do this in a practice battle. He didn't have the mindset of a warrior. Still, he had learned the basic strategies already and hoped he would pick up the actual fighting easily. He relaxed a little bit just to enjoy the ride. He had never really gotten a chance to look at the town, not since he was younger anyway. When he used to play with all the other kids back then. Everything seemed so much different then though. And as he got older, so did his father. He spent more time on the farm, and any time in the town was strictly business.

He looked back at Sakir, who was giving his axe an experimental swing.

"You seem… you seem familiar," said James as he looked at Sakir.

"Don't know what you're talking about, I've never left the desert until today."James thought about this. Sakir's face definitely looked familiar. Before he could focus his thoughts, they had just reached their destination, the small town of Draynor. They decided to make camp a little south of the village for the night, and tomorrow they were free to do whatever they wanted. For James, this meant brutal training.

"You'll have to do better than that! You've barely scratched me, and look at you, you're all bruised up. I know you're new at this, but can't you do at least a little better?" Sakir's words seemed to spark some ambition in James. James got back up and lunged at Sakir, who easily dodged the blow.

"I'll get you at least once, I swear," screamed James lunging at Sakir again. Despite what he said, he was smiling. He wasn't exactly having fun, but he already felt like he was doing better than he thought he would. Over the time of them training, which was almost all of the night, and now this morning, they had become great friends. James had already learned a lot, and was getting much better. Even so, he couldn't land a single hit on Sakir. James however, was beaten and bruised everywhere, but he didn't care.

James charged at Sakir, and thrust for his head. Sakir easily ducked below him and slashed at his knees. James fell to the ground in pain.

"These weapons may be wooden, but they still hurt!" screamed James.

"Then get used to it. In a real battle your enemies will be using real weapons, and they won't go easy on you because it hurts. There's no reason for me to go easy on you now if you want to be prepared for battle."

James looked around and for the first time noticed that everyone was watching him. Not just everyone from his unit, but all of Draynor had come to watch Sakir and him spar. They thought it was funny that James was doing so badly and laughed at him. Some people even threw gold coins at them, asking for more.

It was then Sakir made a mistake. He turned his back to James and waved at the crowd. James quietly got off the ground and ran of to Sakir. He made one quick slash to his back and Sakir fell to the ground.

"You said yourself to never let your guard down until your opponent is defeated. I wasn't done yet," James said defiantly and walked into the village. He could hear Sakir yelling something back, but he was too happy about getting a hit in.

James thought he would spend the rest of the day looking around the village. As he walked into the village a woman ran up to him holding a large sack of coins. "Hey you're the one who was fighting today. You did well. Take these, I have no need for them…" she said handing him the large sack.

"May I ask who you are?" he said staring the pouch of money she had just handed him.

"My name is Mrs. Schism, and I didn't think it was fair that your friend got all the money. In there you'll find one thousand gold coins."

James didn't know what to say. He had never held this much money in his life. "I can't accept this…" but she was already gone, she probably went home. He didn't want the money to go to waste so first he went to a man named Ned's house. He needed a new rope at home anyway, so he spent some of his money on that.

Next he bought a few toys, just for the fun of it, but he ended up giving them away to some kids, remembering how he would've loved these when he was younger. Finally he bought two jugs of wine and went back to camp. He gave one to Sakir who was already sitting there.

He was actually having some fun, between this and his training; he almost forgot he was at war. He always had a strange feeling though in the back of his mind that something would go wrong. He ignored it; he thought he was just nervous from actually being in the army.

But he couldn't shake the feeling. Thos gold coins were nice, but he couldn't get his mind off the idea that pretty soon he'd be killing. Killing others, just so some politicians could overseer a little more land. He was instantly turned off from the notions of glory from the knights in those books his father would tell him about.

"You did well today, you'll do fine in battle," said Sakir as James sat down to join him.

"Where are the others?" James asked him as he took a bite out of the meat.

"Mark and Merk are off playing pranks on the town folk. You may have noticed a bank guard hiding in a tree? That's because of them. And the wine all over the ground, that too. Haddlin and Danik are discussing battle strategies, and we're here. This is a small village and unfortunately there wasn't anyone who seemed fit to join us."

James looked around. There were many trees, by the river lumberjacks were making a living cutting down willow trees. After a loud crack, one of them fell to the ground, producing an even louder sound. The man gathered around it and cut it into smaller pieces to haul away. To his left was the long bridge that went to the wizard tower. He didn't like being so close to it, they were allied with Falador. Apparently they don't normally leave, but he still felt uneasy. It always smelt nice around Draynor, much unlike Lumbridge. His thoughts were interrupted though.

"Do you smell smoke?" asked James.

"Well there is a camp fire right in front of us," said Sakir laughing.

"No, not that. Coming from the village!"

James was interrupted by a yell of fear. He and Sakir ran back to the town.

A few ways off the road James could see the commotion. A white knight was off his horse a little ways north of town, and making a fire. James didn't understand why this was a bad omen, but before he had time to think, the man was hit in the head with an arrow. He looked to his right to see Haddlin clutching his bow tightly.

"Smoke signals, they'll be here in moments, maybe half a day at most."

"What?" James screamed loudly. He wasn't read to fight yet. He was being ignored though. Danik reached for his belt grabbed hold of a large horn. He put it to his lips and blew, a large deep sound echoing from it.

"Assuming they could hear it, Lumbridge will send us reinforcements. They can't spare many, but assuming the enemy will send a large force, we need all the help we can get."

"These people are ruthless," said Haddlin, although James wondered how much experience he had with dealing these people. "We should evacuate the citizens." They all agreed and got right to work. According to Danik there was a refugee camp hidden deep in the Lumbridge swamp, somewhere near the mines. Prisoners and men they had recaptured, as well as those in danger, were sent there. One of the jail guards in the area promised to get the people to safety. As the village was evacuated, the only people left were James's unit, the bank guards, and the jail guards. They were all stationed around the north and west of the city.

Another horn blew, somewhere in the distance. James looked up, expecting Lumbridge royal guard to be coming from the east. When he looked, he saw no one in the immediate area. A thick fog was slowly descending upon them, which James first suspected of being some wizard trickery.

"That…that came from the west, they are approaching. Everyone, be ready!" James tightened his grip on his small steel sword. As he took a closer look at it, he wondered if it would even help him. He didn't even have any armor, only Danik and Haddlin, and Haddlin's armor only consisted of rough leather. The jail guards were a little better off, but the bank guards looked completely out of place. They were all wearing a rusty brown looking armor, with the same type of material for a weapon. James didn't know what it is, but he had a feeling it wouldn't protect them much; he could only hope they could fight.

As they waited for the soldiers to approach, his mind went wild with all the things that could go wrong in the battle, all of them ending with his gruesome death. He shuddered after the last one, which consisted of him being tortured in the prison, and opened his eyes again. Haddlin, who was next to him, knocked an arrow and aimed towards the west. They were position to the north, and the most far west at that, so they would be the last to see an enemy approaching.

Haddlin's eyes must have been sharper than his own though, for he shot deep into the mist. Far away, James thought he could hear a man grunt in pain, and then the world went silent again.

"How did you see him?"

"I didn't, I wanted to see how far I could shoot, I just got lucky, now be quiet!"

James didn't have a chance to though, a white knight riding a pure white stallion came riding towards him, a few bank guards were chasing after him. This rider had obviously broken free of the initial defense.

Haddlin began running backwards, James followed suit, hoping the man would be disposed of with a single arrow. Haddlin shot and hit the horse, right between the eyes. It rolled to the ground as the knight jumped off it. Haddlin stepped back and motioned towards him, as if to say, "This one's yours."

James stepped forward and held his sword the way Sakir told him to. _Study all the weak points. L__et's see. He looks vulnerable under the arm, other than that-_. His thoughts were interrupted by the knight lunging at him. James jumped to the side and was hit with a slash to the arm. He tried to deliver an uppercut to the knight, but it was easily parried and continued with a brisk hit from the pommel of the knights' sword. James fell to the ground, out of breath. The warrior came over and held his sword above James, ready to finish it. James closed his eyes and waited for it, but instead heard a loud thudding noise.

He opened his eyes to see two bank guards holding large maces, and the knight on the ground. On of the guards lifted off his helmet, and for good measure, let Haddlin shoot him in the head. Haddlin retrieved the arrow from the corpse and washed it against his sleeve, returning it to his quiver.

"Come on, this battle is far from over, and you have to put your heart in it. You may not be used to killing, but this is war. I saw a whole bunch of times the opponent was opening for a hit, and you'd have to be an idiot to not see them too!" Haddlin ran westward where the rest of the battle was taking place as soon as he finished the sentence, the bank guards followed.

James ran after him quickly. The truth was, James did notice some of those times. Haddlin was right, he just couldn't kill. Surely he couldn't be the only one like that?

He was wrong. As he went westward he saw the full scale battle. About twenty five or so white knights remained. Some of them seemed to have weaker armor, some had no armor at all, but they were all deadly, with giant swords that took two hands to wield. The jail guards were all but defeated, only a few remained. The bank guards had faced several casualties as well, but thankfully everyone in his unit was still alive. James ran into the fray and tried to spot someone he might be able to defeat.

He didn't have to look; he was confronted by another white knight. This one also looked strong, but was not wearing a helmet. Seeing this as his weak spot, James charged at him. The man slashed his sword downwards, which James parried, and returned with a vicious stab, hitting his opponent between the eyes. James withdrew his sword and looked at it, gleaming with blood, and then looked at the corpse, now lying on the ground. He just stared in disbelief.

"James!" His head whipped around, Sakir had yelled his name. An enemy was charging right at him. Sakir took a throwing axe and threw it. It missed the knight completely and nearly hit James. The knight stopped in his tracks, confused. Frustrated, Sakir threw another hatchet, this time hitting the enemy in the back of the head, piercing the armor completely. James picked up the one that landed at his feet and threw it, hitting an enemy knight in the leg. The man fell to his knees, which brought him a quick demise thanks to Merk. Mark was no where to be seen.

"This looks bad," yelled Danik, who was being pushed back while fighting two knights at the same time. James hadn't even noticed until now, the only people left were his unit and two jail guards, and the opponents, at least twelve of them. His heart sank.

"Oh lord Saradomin, grant me the power to slay these heathens, they, who claim to worship, but perform misdeeds such as this. These travesties shall not go unpunished!" James turned around to see where the voice was coming from. An old man was approaching them from the town. His frail hands tightly held an old but powerful looking staff. He went on: "They shall pay for their insolence." He reached into his robes and pulled out his ancient looking grey stones. He held them tightly in his other hand, pointing at on of the knights. Everyone in the battle had stopped, they were also confused.

"Saradomin Strike!" he yelled, much louder than a man of his age should be able to. A bright white light emit from his staff and flew towards one of the white knights. As soon as the ball of light hit him, he fell to the ground, motionless. The old man repeated the same words, over and over, and slowly the rest of the knights fell. As there were only a few left, they began to run away, which the man let them do. He turned around and returned back to the village.

"You still have the same opinion about mages?" said James, who was standing next to Haddlin, a look of pure awe on his face. Haddlin didn't say anything. Danik ran after him, but no one else felt like moving.

"Where's Mark? I saw him here a second ago, and he's not dead, his body would be here," said Merk. James looked around; there was no sign of him anywhere. The others were just as confused as he was until they saw someone coming down the road on a pony, holding an immense amount of cabbages.

"I got these from a farm a little ways west of here. Falador farm, I burned it afterward. They were very… generous though, to … give me these cabbages. These should last us a few days. As for the pony, a got it off a squire after he was defeated. Did you guys miss me?" said Mark with a smile. As aggravated as the others were, they couldn't help but smile.

"So here we were, in a huge battle, and you go get cabbages?" yelled Haddlin. "At least you were smart enough to get rid of the farm afterward; that should stop their flow of provisions a bit."

"We probably can't stay here long, who are the wizards aligned with?" asked Sakir.

"As far as I know, Falador. They're mostly neutral, but they have pledged allegiance to Sir Amik. We have no choice, if we were ever going to make a direct attack, it's now. We should rest here tonight though, we'll need strength for tomorrow," said Haddlin in a rather commanding voice. As everyone prepared camp for the night, Sakir noticed James was still a little shocked at what he saw.

"This is war. I'm sorry this had to happen, but it did. When you join the army, you have to expect this to happen. It's different though, when you do what most of us do off time. Haddlin and I guard kings or nobles, the only people who try to kill them are cruel. Mark and Merk only fight to protect themselves from thieves. But in war, especially over land, what side is the good side? Just because one leader makes the other one out to be bad, doesn't mean they are bad. Many people from Falador are just like us, just fighting to get by."

"I realized that. That's what makes it harder, because that means I will have to keep killing and hurting innocent people, just like they do, if I want to survive," said James, who couldn't even look up. He was content with staring at his feet.

"Who knows, we're planning a direct attack tomorrow, it will probably be our last day at this. Win or lose, it will be over tomorrow."

"How can you be so sure? Things happen, we may get held back, we might be stuck fighting within the city for the day. You need to be a little more realistic Sakir."

"And you need to be a little more optimistic, or we won't win. You have a point though," he paused, "We're planning to attack Falador directly and assassinate Sir Amik Varze; there may be a slim chance of victory, or us coming out a live. I'd rather not think about it, so just go to sleep. If not, I'll hit you with my hatchet and make you sleep," he said jokingly.

"Hit me with your hatchet? Just like you did in today's battle right?" James chuckled. This was responded the Sakir's boot flying into James face. "I got you, I'll go to sleep," said James who was still laughing. He still couldn't keep his mind of tomorrow but hoped he would find solace in his dreams.


	2. Chapter 2: To Falador

_Enjoy…_

**Chapter 2: To Falador **

The small group of kids stopped at the mine entrance. James was still a young boy, and was with a group of kids around his age. Most of them were desert folk, but that made sense. His father had business to do in the desert and told him to go play. James instantly found a group of boys and introduced himself. They said they were headed to the mine and asked if he wanted to go, he happily obliged. 

The mine was cut into the desert, it was surrounded by high cliffs that would be impossible to climb and deadly to drop in. The only entrance was from the south, at the north end it stopped. All of the boys stood there, when finally one of them pushed James forward. Scared, James ran back to the group. They laughed and continuously pushed and shoved him, deeper into the mine. They were all considerably stronger than him, even the young ones. They were all being raised as fighters.

James finally screamed stop, and much to his surprise, they obliged. With looks of terror on their faces, they turned around and ran for it. Happy with himself, James slowly set back out towards the city. As he walked he thought he heard one of the boys behind him. Must be a joke he thought.

When he turned around he was instead face to face with a giant scorpion. It led out a hiss and reared its poison barbed tail, ready to attack. James closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. Nothing happened, then the scorpion hissed again. When James opened his eyes, he saw a boy of the desert, no more than two years older than him, fighting the scorpion with nothing but a steel sword. The boy was rather small in comparison still though, and James now feared for his life, as well as his own.

It turns out his stature was his biggest friend though. The boy slid underneath the scorpions legs easily and struck down hard on the tail, severing it in two. The sound the scorpion made was as close as it could get to a shriek of pain, before it fell to the ground, lifeless. The boy turned around and smiled.

"What's your name?" James inquired. The question echoed until James was surrounded by black, and began to shake.

James found himself being pushed and shoved. He finally opened his eyes and saw Haddlin. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Everyone was packing their things and piling them on their horses. They had wasted no time getting ready.

No one said a word, nothing needed to be said. Mark and Merk looked grim, Sakir avoided everyone, and Danik and Haddlin weren't talking about battle strategies or anything of the like. Danik even looked worried, they all new their future looked bleak.

As James sat down for breakfast he looked up, no birds flew overhead. The sky was gray, a bad omen in times of war, Haddlin had whispered to him while they ate. They had steamed cabbage for breakfast, it was quick to make and horrible to taste. They day had already started out bad.

Danik told them it was about a half a days ride to Falador. Their mission was to assassinate Sir Amik Varze and escape to the northern gate. They would rendezvous at the dwarven mines with some Varrock officials who would escort them home. The chances of succeeding were very slim, not only were there city guard every where, Sir Amik Varze lived in the White Knight castle, and they would have some trouble getting through.

According to Varrock spies there was a break in the western wall that was where they were headed. From their, they were on their own, the spies had long since retreated or been caught.

James mounted his steed as did the others. They walked in a straight line formation, Danik first, then Mark and Merk, James came next, and Sakir and Haddlin bringing up the rear. They slowly passed the stone wall that divided Draynor (who was neutral in the war) and Falador country. As they went James could hear the waves crash at the nearby port. He had never seen the sea, only the River Lum. If he made it through the end of the war, he would come visit here, maybe even take a ship to a nearby island. If, I make it trough this, he thought somberly.

"I forgot to ask, who was the wizard?" James inquired, trying to make conversation.

"He was gone when I returned to the village, must of teleported somewhere. He should be friendly though, considering what he did. He probably went to Lumbridge or Varrock; I believe they have teleport spells to there." When Danik finished talking, everyone was silent; obviously no one wished to speak.

They continued westward from where the road parted north until Danik thought they were in the right spot. The headed north from there and came to the gate next to a peculiar mage who seemed to busy to notice them. They let their horses go here, only taking their weapons and armor with them and continued north.

They walked until they came to the break in the wall. It was still pretty high, just low enough for them to climb over. They all glanced at each other and nodded. One by one the climbed into Falador.

"Now what?" James whispered to the others. They didn't say a word and surveyed their surroundings. They were obviously better at these things than him but he began to look around anyway.

All the walls were made of whitewashed stone. The city was much cleaner than even Varrock, from what James new, he had never actually been in Varrock. In front of them was the bank, and a little north of that were four guards talking to each other. James couldn't hear what they were saying, probably something irrelevant.

"We need those guards, everyone follow me," said Danik as he ran to the shadows where the western wall and southern wall meet. "Guards, Guards, Come quick!" he shouted as loud as he could. He signaled everyone to draw their weapons. The guards quickly came over and were quite surprised at what they saw.

The minute they came into view Haddlin blasted one with an arrow. He fell to the ground and the other guards crowded around him to see if he was alive. Sakir, Mark and Merk ran up to the other three while their backs were turned and slit their throats.

"So tell me again why we just killed them?" said James, still not used to the whole aspect of killing.

"We're all wearing armor, but not white knight armor nor guard armor, the only people who wear armor in this city, meaning we would easily be noticed as Varrock soldiers, we needed disguises," said Danik as he pulled off their chain mail.

"But there are only four!" Mark yelled louder than was probably safe.

"I realized that, Mark and Merk, you two will have to take off your armor and pose as spies that we caught in the city. Put some chain mail on under your shirt though for at least some protection. Also, I know how hard it is for you two to act serious in the midst of a crowd, but please try. We can't have you waving to the crowd in times like these," Danik said and signaled for James and Sakir to grab Merk's arms, he and Haddlin got Mark.

The twins looked hurt that Danik would even say such a thing but didn't respond; instead they let themselves be taken. They were slowly dragged out in front of the bank and were headed for the white knight castle.

"Hey mister," said a little boy pulling at Haddlin's pant leg, "what did these guys do?"

"They're Varrock spies, we're lucky we caught them when we did," Sakir responded trying to fake a smile. This was met by loud gasps from the villagers now lining the streets to see them. They all look disgusted; some even threw rocks and old rotten food at them. The Faladorians really hated Varrock, whereas, in Lumbridge at least, they all hated the war itself, not the Faladorians.

They continued on until they saw a bridge to what looked like the white knight castle. They slowly crossed the bridge with Mark and Merk's feet dragging on the ground.

"What business do you have here?" asked one of the white knight in the courtyard.

"These spies were caught snooping around the city, we came to report them to Sir Amik Varze," said Danik coolly.

"Then on your way, if you haven't been in the castle before just up the ladder in the east room and follow the corridor to the south. There will be a staircase there, which leads to Sir Amik Varze's room."

They thanked the white knight and couldn't help but smile as the walked into the castle. Their smiles froze in a second, they looked to the cage at their left, two corpses lay there, next to them was the symbol of Varrock.

"We better do this right," Mark whispered to them, "Or that's where we end up."

They just nodded and continued on. They slowly walked up the stairs. The castle was amazing, James had to admit. It was all whitewashed stone, all the furniture was nicely polished, and the men were well trained. When they went up the stairs James saw a library with many books, he didn't get a good look at them but they were all very large volumes which undoubtedly contained magic spells and battle tactics. James never learned to read so he wouldn't know.

They continued on the corridor until they came to the final room with the stairs in it. "Sir Amik Varze is up there, continue on," said one of the two guards there. They nodded and walked up the stairs.

"What do you want?" said Sir Amik Varze. The war had obviously damaged him, physically and mentally. He looked very paranoid, with even the slightest noise and he'd jump. There were books all over the room, most of them were torn in places, some had something spilled all over them, on others the ink had smudged. Sir Amik was reading a very large book that Danik identified as "Gnome Battle Tactics." Sir Amik was definitely getting desperate.

"Uhh, Sir," said Sakir taking a tighter grip on Merk, "We caught these two spies in the city, we believe they're the only ones."

Danik let go of Mark and walked over to Sir Amik, ushering him to the window. "Even so, we have to be careful, there could still be more in the city," said Danik pointing to random people he suspected of treason, making sure his back was against the rest of the group.

Sakir slowly reached to his belt and pulled out a knife. He clutched it in his right hand and made his way towards Sir Amik Varze. "You have to be careful," he said now right in back of Sir Amik, whispering in his ear, "Anyone could be a traitor." With that, he stabbed Sir Amik in the back and returned the knife to it's sheathe. Sir Amik fell to the floor dead.

"Maybe we should leave, and quick," said Mark. The others agreed and they ran down the stairs.

"What happened?" asked one of the guards at the bottom of the stairway.

"We are to escort the spies to the torture chamber," said Haddlin.

"Oh ok," said one of the guards as he began to walk up the stairs.

"Where are you going," asked Danik nervously, the others were just as shaken as he was.

"Oh, well, I'm supposed to be guarding Sir Amik, he wanted some privacy before and told me to come back in about an hour, I reckon it's been about that time."

Everyone looked at each other, and without thinking Merk took a knife from his boot and stabbed the guard in the neck; Mark did the same to the other guard before he had time to react.

"We should run before someone finds out," said Haddlin, and as if on queue another White Knight walked into the room. He didn't say a word but instead ran outside and yelled at the guard in the tower to sound the alarm. The giant bells began to ring all along the city. The group could here the castle, and city, gates being closed off.

Danik ran up to the man and killed him before he could come back in. "This way, there's a way down to the courtyard from here." Everyone went running over.

They went out onto the wooden balcony and noticed many of the white knights gathered out in the courtyard. Haddlin shot a few of them down and then noticed he was out of arrows. "What do we do?" he yelled concerned. They didn't have much time to think because one of the squires shot a flaming arrow into the balcony. The wood was old and burned fast. "Back inside, back inside!" screamed Haddlin. James, going back in last, noticed all of the other White knights going back in as well.

"They'll be waiting for us, on the Brightside, most of the knights are stationed in battle, but unfortunately for us, the only ones left, besides the squires, are the royal guard, the most elite of their soldiers." said Haddlin.

"Don't forget the gates are also closed," said James.

"If I could get my hands on an arrow and some cloth I could probably light it, the gates are made of wood and would probably burn easily, that's not a problem, I know they have at least one archer," said Haddlin glancing outside the window where the balcony still burned. "Wait a second, what just happened, look, out the window."

Everyone else looked, the flames had all been put out, the balcony soaking wet. The door creaked open; the first thing they saw was the wooden staff. As the figure walked in, they could tell it belonged to an accomplished mage, the staff itself looked very powerful.

"You! You were the ones at Draynor, the ones who fended off the White Knights, they were talking about you!"

No one had time to react; the wizard clutched some red runes and began saying an incantation James didn't understand. His eyes close and he began to hover a little. Haddlin reached for his quiver but realized he had no arrows. Lightning struck his body and down into the ground.

His eyelids shot open, his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. Immense power welled up inside the staff. "Saradomin guide me, help me destroy these foul creatures who go against your word!" yelled the man. He mumbled something James couldn't understand, there was a bright flash, and then James blacked out.

"Who are you?" James repeated to the boy.

"I am Sakir Aljinni of the desert, and unlike those others, I am a friend. I'm sorry for what they have done to you, and hope you're all right." James nodded. "C'mon," he said, leading the way back out of the mines.

When they returned to the city, they stayed with each other for awhile, playing pranks on the guard and trying (with no luck) to convince the shanty to let them through the desert. Indeed, when his father finally tracked him down, telling them they had to leave, James was extremely disappointed. Sakir was the only person he was ever able to call a friend, even in his short day of knowing him. It wasn't that kids didn't like him (besides the ones in the desert) but with so much work to do, he never had time. That was the first time in life he was really enjoying himself, not just getting by. "C'mon James, we have to go!"

"James! James!"

James slowly opened his eyes, he was in a large building, it seemed to be a castle. But not one of Falador, the stone work looked gray. It was beautiful though, with many gilded decorations and candles. The sheets of his bed were made of a fine white silk, has were to clothes he was in although he never remembered changing into them. In fact, he didn't remember anything.

"Wait a second; I must be in Varrock, but how? I just remember being in Falador and a huge flash." Said James to himself. He looked to his right to see Danik perched over his bedside.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently, James thought he would be happy, but he looked far from it.

"What happened?" asked James.

"We were retrieved by Varrock forces once news spread of Amik's death. Sadly though, Sakir is gone, he's presumed dead," said Danik, his voice lowering as he looked down at the floor. "The good new though, is that the war is over now; there are only a few Falador soldiers now that are being easily disposed of. I'm sorry James; I know you and Sakir were great friends." Danik left the room; it would have been too much to see James' reaction.

James didn't react at first, he was happy, happy that the war was over, but he then finally realized, Sakir was gone. He choked for a second, and then let the tears flow freely. He never really had any friends in Lumbridge; Sakir was his greatest friend, his only one unless he counted the others from his unit, although he hadn't gotten to know them as well. He knew that everyone would probably want to see him, they were probably worried, he guessed he was the last to wake up, but he didn't care, he just slowly went back to sleep.

----------------------

"So you're saying you want us to join you? In the war? I thought it would be over now"

"Yes, we believe that with your help we can win."

"I don't know, with the loss of your king you are still a weak nation, no offence, Burthorpe won't just be rushing to your aid, it would be a sacrifice of men!"

"We believe we could make some negotiations." As this was said, the man opened up his tent, revealing a dark skinned man tied up with rope over his mouth. "They call him Sakir."


	3. Chapter 3: Burthorpe

_Glad to see you're still reading this, it only gets better._

**Chapter 3: Burthorpe**

_Dear James, _

This letter is to be given to no one, if we find out anyone else has seen this letter, we will kill you, you will also be killed if you do not agree to what this letter states, or if you try to stop us. But, it's not just your life that you could endanger. We have your friend.

I believe his name is Sakir, a strong young fellow, from the desert land of Al Kharid, correct? We captured him that horrible day that you killed our leader. He now fights for us, we told him that we had you and you'd only live if he agreed to our demands. As of now, we have him, and this time it's no lie. We would like you to come to our side, for your sake, and his.

We also believe it would be in your best interest. The tide of this war is changing. Varrock has become weak, they no longer see us as a threat, they will be easy to dispose of. Have you ever heard of the Burthorpe army? They are lightning quick and very strong, they fight with claws of steel attached to their hands, and for years have been able to keep an army of trolls at bay. They also have allied themselves with us, and we can make quick work of Varrock. If you were to join us you'd actually live to see the end of this war, not to mention you'd probably get a nice reward. If you agree, meet the man in black robes in the Lumbridge swamps, tonight!

White Knight Commander  
Taleka 

James stared at the letter in disbelief; it took awhile for everything to seep in. His first expression was of joy, he was happy to know Sakir was alive, but that didn't last long. "Sakir was my best friend," he whispered to himself.

James had returned to his home in Lumbridge to find it just the way he left it, which was better than he could say for some. Most of the homes were destroyed. His father told him that a few days after he had left Lumbridge was attack by wizards. They had successfully fended off the attack, but were greatly damaged. James recalled this as the same day he fought in the battle of Draynor, which would explain why no Lumbridge reinforcements came.

The letter had arrived magically on his table. That is being said literally, he was eating his breakfast and it appeared there in a puff of smoke, obviously from the wizards work. It had been two months since his return from Varrock, he had stayed there for a week, he had many things to do there. They even made a statue of his unit around the fountain in the center of town, they made Sakir's statue at the south point, and it was largest and nicest of all.

During his stay there he began to have a wonderful time, even if he was always thinking of his lost friend. Mark and Merk got into a lot of trouble, while Haddlin headed home right away. He spent most of his time with a man named Urantan, a wizard from a land called Yanille. That was supposed to be the magic city. Urantan wasn't always there though; he could teleport to almost anywhere. Despite what Haddlin had said, he found the mage to be very skilled.

During his stay Urantan taught him how to read. It was hard, but he said he picked up surprisingly quick. Although he wasn't that good even when he left Lumbridge, Urantan continued to visit him and teach him. In fact, he was supposed to come today, very soon too. James considered showing him the letter, but decided not, he didn't want to trifle with other wizards.

"I am going tonight though, I have to."

"What was that?" said a man in blue robes and a long gray beard. He walked out of the shadows from the corner of the room.

James spun around and eyed the man. "How did you get in here?"

"I all ready told you before, I made it so that with the necessary runes I can teleport to your house, did I come at a bad time?"

"No, not at all. We may have to cut today's lesson a little short; I have, uh, business, to take care of, later tonight."

"Makes no difference," said Urantan clapping his hands and pulling out an enormous tome from his robes. "This book is called 'Gnome Battle Tactics' I got it as a gift. From a fellow wizard, all though he wouldn't tell me how he came across it, supposedly it's the only one in the world like it!"

James paused. The name sounded familiar, he though Danik or Haddlin mentioned it once. Nevertheless he began to read and was quite fascinated. For their small stature, the gnomes won many battles because of their superior strategies. He became so fascinated he didn't even notice Urantan say,

"Oh, it seems it's time for me to leave, you just give me that book some time tomorrow, see you tonight!" And James didn't even notice. He didn't notice how strange Urantan's farewell truly was.

James finally thought to look out the window for a moment and noticed how dark it was. After a second he remembered where it was he should be and quickly ran out the door, only stopping to grab his old sword.

He didn't know where exactly in the swamps, but he was guessing somewhere in the center, where no one would be. He ran past the old church, the bells were ringing to signify the late mass. He completely ignored it and ran into the graveyard, past his mother's grave, and into the swamp. Right away he veered from the path and began to slow to a walk.

"I'm so very glad you showed up! Although I'd be dreadfully sorry if you try to resist." The voice seemed much too happy for the man he should be meeting. Then he remembered he'd really be meeting with someone from the wizard tower, so why the black robes?

"I'm sure my attire seems strange to you. Well, if I came here dressed like I normally do walking this close to Lumbridge wouldn't be the best idea." James finally turned around. The man was young, for a wizard anyway, maybe early thirties. His face was clean shaven. All he wore were the black robes, no hat, necklace, or anything; just the black robes which made him blend into the night.

"Where's Sakir?"

"You'll find out soon if you join us, don't worry."

James was fighting back his emotions. It would kill his father, everyone he'd ever known, to join Falador, but Sakir was actually his friend. His father would never have to know, and he'd make sure that if he won the war, his father would only be a slave. James obviously didn't realize how horrible that really was.

"Alright, it seems I don't have much of a choice. Can we get on with it? What do I do now?"

"Ahh, perfect, they told me you may try to put up a fight. Come, come, we shall rest at the wizard's tower." And with that, he started off. James followed him, hoping to be out of the smelly swamp soon, especially in the night. He saw the familiar wreckage of Draynor. Citizens were doing their best to rebuild the town.

At once he recognized some of the villagers. He tried to hide his face, but it was to no avail. As they walked towards the bridge, someone approached him.

"'Ey, what are you doing going to the wizard tower, aren't you James, part of the unit that not only defended the town, killed Sir Amik Varze?" James just put his head down.

"Now now, I think everyone deserves to know what's going on, don't they." The wizard clapped and his voice was magnified several times. "I am traveling with Sir James Farmer of Varrock, and he is indeed traveling of his own free will. He thought you should all know that he has decided to join Falador in this war, the war that is not quite as over as you think it is. Aren't you James?" The wizard smiled a terrible smile. James kept his mouth shut; the whole town stopped what they were doing and crowded around him. The wizard put his hand up to James's chest so that the others couldn't see, and created a small fireball. "Aren't you James?" he repeated in a sly whisper, for only James to hear.

"Yes." James mumbled, his gaze transfixed on the ground.

"What was that?" asked the wizard, edging the fire closer to his chest.

"Yes, yes, yes! It's me, James Farmer of Lumbridge, of Varrock, I am a traitor, and I have deserted all of you." Tears began to flood down his cheeks; he couldn't believe his own words. The wizard just gave another sly smile.

"I'd suggest," he boomed, "That you get this news right to Lumbridge, then Varrock. It's especially important for all of James's friends to know. Also, if any of you have a chance, stop by Al Kharid, tell them that Sakir is alive and well!" He gave another toothy smile, and in the clap of his hands, James and he had teleported to the other side of the bridge, and quickly entered the wizard's tower.

"I'd get some sleep if I were you, big day tomorrow!" said the wizard, and with an evil laugh, locked James's door behind him. The room was very plain, some magic runes lay in the corner, and an empty bookcase and desk were next to the window. He sat down in the uncomfortable mattress and put his head in his hands.

"May I come in?" said a familiar voice with a knock. James merely grunted.

"I'll take that as a yes. Well then," and the door swung open. In stepped a very old wise looking man.

"Urantan!" said James, finally recognizing him.

"Quite, I heard about your predicament and infiltrated here. Truly, what made you follow the directions given to you in a strange letter?"

"Well, they said that, wait a second, how'd you know I received a strange letter?"

"A wizard has very sharp eyes and ears. Never mind that, it would be wise to escape soon."

"Where will we go?" James noticed Urantan's voice was rather calm. It was comforting, but also strange for someone who just infiltrated the wizard's tower.

"The one place where we can have salvation, Burthorpe."

"But the letter said that they're in control of…"

"Exactly what they wanted you to think, for it's the one place where we can find protection. If you knew that and made it safely there, that would be quite a problem. You are very important to them. One of the greatest heroes of Varrock, betraying them. You are a favorite amongst most people; you were just a farm boy who became something much greater. Stealing you would have the biggest impact on enemy morale."

"Oh, that makes sense, I guess," said James, wanting to be anywhere but where he was now. The whole idea made him feel worse and worse about being where he was.

He looked up to see Urantan, who was rummaging through the pile of runes and took a few random ones.

"All right then," he said, pulling out a gold necklace with a large sapphire in the center. He put it up to the runes and a glowing light emerged from the two objects. When the light faded, the runes were gone, and the necklace seemed to glow. "Rub this and think about the Burthorpe games room."

"But I don't know what the games room is like!"

"That is not a problem. Have you ever played rune link?"

"Yes once or twice with my father."

"Then as you rub the necklace, think of a game of rune link."

He didn't quite understand it, but did as he was told. As he put his hand over the gem he felt power enter his body. He began to rub it back and fourth and thought of playing games with his father.

His reminiscing was interrupted though by a horrible feeling. He felt as if he was being turned into a liquid. He let out a scream of anguish then as soon as it began, he started to feel himself again, although in a very different place. Urantan showed up behind him looking very casual.

"How can you stand doing that?"

"You get used to it," he said with a shrug and began up the steps. James quickly followed. They climbed yet another set of steps and walked out of the building they were in.

"I see you brought the boy. Very good."

James spun his head to the left to see a man in all black approaching. At first glance his hands looked to be made of metal, but James then noticed that he was wearing gauntlets that were a lot like claws as a weapon.

"You have done most well, here you are," said the man, shoving some rather powerful looking runes into Urantan's hands. Urantan smiled happily and stuffed them into his robes. The man continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"Would you come with me?" asked the man, grabbing a hold of James arm. Obviously it wasn't a question. He looked desperately at Urantan, who was paying no attention to either of them.

"He's not your friend little boy, and he never was. Now why don't you come with me eh?" And with a toothy smile that reminded James a lot of they wizard that had brought him to the Wizard Tower, he was dragged away towards a very large tent.

"What's going on?" asked James nervously. His only reply was being thrown inside a tent and the tent itself being close magically.

"You think I can't get out of here!" yelled James, kicking and clawing at the walls.

"Don't bother, it won't work."

James spun around in an instant and froze. His eyes began to water so he looked away again.

"I lost a lot of respect for you James. I was hoping to never see you here."

"But…"

"No buts. They told me they were going to try and lure you here by using me as bait. I told them you would never fall for such a stupid trick. Seems like I was wrong. I'm amazed you even thought I was alive."

"But…but…but Sakir!" yelled James, now fully in tears. "You are alive, and you need rescuing!"

"I don't want to be rescued by you anymore. All you are is a traitor, the worst kind of scum. I'd rather die then be rescued by the likes of you! You've obviously never heard of a thing called honor!" yelled Sakir, his voice beginning to rise.

"But! But!" stuttered James, amazed by what he was hearing. Sakir however had already turned his back on him and began pretending to snore, obviously to show that he was no longer interested in the conversation, or in talking to James. James crawled over to his bed and began to weep for a long time.

"Wake up, Wake up!" James opened his eyes to see a menacing looking guard at the tent opening. The metallic claws glinted in the sunlight as he raised them up. James had a horrific vision of them coming straight down at him, but instead the guard merely grabbed his arm and pulled him out. Sakir was still asleep, which James figured was better; he didn't want to talk to him now.

"Come with me!" James slowly followed. He was lead past the training soldiers to another tent, which was closed securely. He looked at James, as if sizing him up, and then bent over and reached into a chest. He picked out a few pairs of black clothes that James recognized as the ones they were wearing. He threw them to James and ordered him to put it on. He did so, and was surprised to find that they fit well.

"Keep the extras with you, just in case. Here, take this." He threw him a large brown sack that James recognized as something you attached to your belt. He clipped it on and shoved all of the extra uniforms in it, nearly filling it completely. "Don't forget the hood; you need to wear this at all times." James complied, putting on the black hood that fit more like a mask.

"It looks like you're preparing me for battle," said James, hoping he wasn't right. The guard didn't say anything, but rummaged around in another chest. He pulled out a pair of claws, like the ones he was wearing.

"Take these, wear them at all times." James obliged. They fit rather well, and were able to give him excellent maneuverability. He repeated his question, but the guard walked out of the tent. James followed close by.

"You have a choice," said the guard, who had stopped to watch all the men training. "You may join the Burthorpe army, or you may die. Choose."

James didn't speak for a second. Was Sakir right? Was honor more important than living? No, James would live, and prove to Sakir that he wasn't a different. "I'll… I'll join you."

"All right then. Men," all the soldiers stopped to look at him. "Impugnatio." James didn't understand what he said, but the soldiers did. They looked at James for a second. Finally, one of them walked up. He raised his fist up in the air, the metal gleaming. James stared at him, wondering what he was about to do. The soldier brought his fist down fast and brought it into James's thigh. He withdrew the claws instantly and lunged again. This time, James was able to dodge it. As he watched the soldier in total confusion, he was caught with a slash to the back. He whipped around to see another soldier there, his right claw dripping with blood. When he looked to his left, he saw two more soldiers running towards him.

"The only way for those who aren't born in Burthorpe to join our army is, well, to kill one of the already born soldiers. We don't want a large amount of inexperienced men slowing us down, so this is a test, if you can kill one, you're in, if you fail to kill one, or end up killing more then one, you die."

The voice belonged to the guard that had given him his clothes and claws. James didn't have time to look though; he was too busy dodging blows. Every time he tried to land a hit it was expertly dodged, and then he would barely have enough time to jump away from the next attack. He was constantly getting hit with punches and kicks; he realized they weren't using their claws as much. He thought back to what Urantan said, and realized that they didn't really want him to die, so they were giving him a better chance.

After a long time of trying to just dodge and hit, he realized it wouldn't work, he needed a strategy. It was at the same time he noticed he was being surrounded. By the time he finished the very though, one last soldier ran up to close the last gap in the circle around him.

Thinking quickly, he lunged at the seemingly weakest one in the group. The enemy pushed to the side to dodge the attack, which gave James a small opening to go through. The guard clapped in back of the crowd, apparently amused by his tactics. James knew it still wasn't over yet though.

James surveyed the group, who were now standing in a straight line, shoulder to shoulder. He tried to figure out who was the weakest, and tried to remember any of their tactics, if possible. It was at this moment an arrow zipped by his ear and landed in the ground. He turned around to see that there were two archers on the wall, and they were getting read to attack again.

It was at the same time the other soldiers ran towards him. He ran towards his tent and dived into it. He quickly cut a hole through the back and ran out. The other soldiers didn't even see him outside.

The archers did though. As he ran, they continuously shot at him. Luckily, the Burthorpe army wasn't known for exceptional archers, none of them hit their mark.

As James ran, he circled around, trying to make himself a harder target. At this point the rest of the soldiers already had seen him and were running towards him. He was also seen by the guard, who decided it was time to join in. The guard was much more experienced than the rest of the soldiers, and faster too. He was almost completely caught up with James when he tripped over a very large rock and fell forward, into the spot that James had been a second before. That was the same spot that one of the bowmen had shot at, the arrow hit the guard square in the back.

James rolled him over and felt his heart beat, it was faint. That was good. The guard began to take heavy breaths, a wave of relief swept through the soldiers, he was still alive. It was at this moment James thrust his claws into his heart. His breathing immediately stopped. James withdrew his hand and slowly stood up. He had killed again, and he still didn't like it.

One of the soldiers was about to charge at him, but another one put up a hand to stop him. James realized he had won the challenge.

"I am now part of the Burthorpe army; I finished your challenge fairly." No one else said anything. Disgusted with himself for killing again, he merely walked into his tent and slept, ignoring Sakir.


	4. Chapter 4: The Repercussions

_Enjoy, kind of._

**Chapter 4: Repercussions**

James decided to wake up bright and early the next morning; he was tired of being pushed awake in the mornings. This was his seventh day with the Burthorpe army, and he hated every second of it. He would have to train for seven hours straight, sparring with soldiers or hitting dummies. After that was time to eat a small lunch. The lunch break was surprisingly quick, and as soon as it was over, it was right to training again. At that point Is was usually push-ups, sit-ups, and if it was a bad day, running up the mountain with weights attached to your legs and arms. Luckily, he only had to run up to what was safe, no trolls would attack him while he did this. It was a grueling work out either way, and every day, every part of James's body felt sore.

Even so, James felt himself building a lot of muscle. When sparring with the soldiers he felt a little more sure of himself. He didn't want to go to battle if he could help it, but at the same time he felt he had a much higher survival rate if he did.

He was also getting used to using claws as weapons. He was able to move with them as if they were just an extension on his hands, and it was after this time he realized why they were praised as such deadly weapons. They were delicate though, finding an enemies weak points were even more important now, the claws could easily break if you tried to directly attack a plate body or chain mail.

James stopped to look at Sakir. Sakir was a prisoner, through and through. He'd stay in the tent, get fed at meal times, and that was it. James began to feel sorry for him, but remembered they weren't exactly on speaking terms right now. Sakir now slept most of the day. "_He must hate it here. Well, I did offer to rescue him…"_

He decided to stop worrying about it; he would do something about it later. When he walked outside, he expected to see all the men exercising. Instead, they were putting on their claws, something they didn't do until later on in the afternoon. While looking around, James recognized a familiar face walking towards him.

"I know you; you're one of the white knights!"

"The one and only Taleka, the new in-command. Now I'd suggest you prepare for battle, we're taking Falador back from Varrock today."

James stood there silently for a moment. He knew this was going to happen, but so soon! He was hoping to have escaped by the time he was called upon for battle. "What if," he began, gathering all his courage, "What if I don't want to fight?"

"Then you will face the repercussions. Understand?"

"What are the repercussions?"

"It's a form of torture." With that, he walked away, leaving James's mind to wander.

A steady downpour fell from the sky as the soldiers suited up for the coming battle. James had been ready for hours, and was merely sitting in his tent, wondering what he should do.

"I guess, I guess I have to fight. There's nothing else to do. If they wouldn't even describe what they were going to do to me, it must be pretty bad."

Suddenly, he thought back to his largest battle he was in, the battle of Draynor Village. He recalled the worried look of villagers, hurrying to escape. Guards and soldiers were falling to the ground, writhing in pain. Some died by his hands. The scene got more and more horrific as it replayed in his head, multiple times.

"No. I…I can't do this. It's too much. I can't just keep killing like this. I…"

"Get over here, now, we're leaving!" He was interrupted by a Buthorpe soldier. James nodded and stood up, wondering how he would get away with this. As the walked south, they passed the Guthixian village of Taverly. James watched the druids with utmost respect.

"They have become one with nature and the world, a great feat. If only the rest of the world could realize."

"What are you talking about?" yelled the soldier behind him. James didn't even notice he was slowing them down. He quickly closed the gap he had created in the formation as they passed through the large gate.

"We're stopping here to rest. Tomorrow we will seize Falador. For now, eat, sleep, and cherish the times you have now, some of you may not have any more."

With the last sentence of the general's ringing in his ears, James skipped dinner and went right to bed.

He awoke the next morning to find the weather hadn't changed in the least. He sulkily put on the claws and mask and walked out of his tent. There he saw the general already forming units with the soldiers. He spotted James and beckoned him to come over.

"You will be part of squad thirteen. They are all new and inexperienced, like yourself. We deploy you first, so get in the front."

James did so obediently. Normally he'd be angry about being called inexperienced at anything, and even more nervous for having to go out first with the inexperienced group. Now though, the whole idea meant nothing to him. He didn't plan on doing anything in this battle. Knowing he'd have to face the repercussions anyway, he was starting to think death wasn't so bad. Maybe it was the easiest way out.

As the hours went by, all the soldiers were ready to move out. James looked around at his group, and immediately though back to the caravan ride to Draynor. He was almost expecting to see Haddlin next to him, and was greatly disappointed. Instead, he saw a boy, about his age, who looked weighted down by the lightweight steel claws on his hands. Two his left he saw two boys, older than him, who looked like complete idiots, and behind him he saw a man, much older than him, who looked like he was about to break down and cry. He almost laughed, but thought better of it.

Taleka rode up in front of them and put his hands up, making the men go silent. They looked at him expectantly. After a brief moment of silence, he turned around and edged his steed onward, motioning for the others to follow.

After what felt like an eternity James could spot the Falador walls. The gates were shut tightly, and for some reason, there were no guards outside. He wasn't the only one to see this. Immediately, frantic whispers were heard from all sides.

"Do you think they know?"

"They are prepared for us!"

"We're going to die!" One man screamed, after Taleka motioned for everyone to be quiet. He quickly covered his mouth and sank back into the crowd, hoping that he wouldn't be punished.

"It matters not that they are ready for us! We are the stuff of Legend. We shall destroy them!" The man cheered and raised their fists. Taleka approached the gate and was met by two guards on the wall.

"What business do you have here?"

"We, the Burthorpe and Faladorian army, have come to reclaim our city. Go down peacefully, and no one will be harmed!"

"Yeah right. You'd torture us all. Besides, we had a very reliable source telling us you'd be coming; we're prepared for this fight."

"And who may have told you?"

"Well you see," said a figure, standing up and facing the crowd, "I wasn't really pleased with your donation." James recognized him immediately. There on the wall stood a smiling Urantan, holding some very powerful runes, probably ones he received from 'New' Falador.

"Now, I must kindly ask you to leave, before we have to move on to unnecessary bloodshed."

Taleka screamed in rage and drew his sword. He was immediately met by a huge burst of flame from Urantan. James almost clapped, but realized that would be instant death. Taleka raised his hand, but was met, this time, by a large boulder. He was thrown off his steed, who instantly galloped away. He tried desperately to get up, and was met by a large wind blast, which picked him up and carried him away, towards the Black Knight castle.

"We…We should leave," said the Burthorpe commander, the soldiers nodded in agreement.

"Anyone who moves shall be killed on the spot!" James tried to find the voice, and found it belonged to the White Knight third in command. He unsheathed his sword and pointed it menacingly at everyone in the front line.

"Well isn't this funny. Well, I'll leave you boys to play; I have work to do here in Falador. You should really see what Varrock has done with the place; the dungeons are amazing, really." Urantan then jumped off the wall and into the city, lowering himself gently with some runes.

"Wait! Get back here! Right now, we aren't done with you. Men, charge!" The third in command turned around to see his men marching in the opposite direction. "Get back here!"

"Will someone just shoot him?" Said the Burthorpe commander as they marched back towards Burthorpe, knowing there was no threat.

"Gladly!" said someone on the wall, and James could've sworn he heard the voice before. He heard the sound of an arrow fire, and the commander falling.

"This couldn't have turned out better. No battle, and no 'repercussions,'" thought James as they stopped by the gate. All of the soldiers looked happy with the prospect of no battle either.

"I wonder who's fourth in command, eh? White Knights are dropping like flies," joked one Burthorpe soldier. James noticed at this remark several people becoming pale. He laughed. He realized how very tired he was, and decided to go to sleep.

"Ready to face the repercussions?" asked the new fourth in command.

"What do you mean? The battle never happened!" Yelled James. They had just returned home when James was confronted by the new general.

"You were ordered to stay, but you didn't. Come with me." James opened his mouth as if to speak, but thought against it. He held out his arms to be taken away. The general held his arms tightly and dragged him over to the middle area. James saw someone else there, a dark skinned man. His clothes were torn and he had blood coming from nearly every inch of his body.

"This is Sakir. I believe the two of you are acquainted. He'll be facing the repercussions."

"What did Sakir ever do?"

"Don't you remember, you left the battle! Did Taleka never explain what the repercussions are? We torture your dearest and closest friend until he dies, all at your fault. It's the only real reason he was here."

James stared at Sakir in disbelief. He went to run over to him, but was held down by two larger soldiers. All he could to was watch. The whipped him, slashed him raw with the claws. It got worse and worse as time went on. They severed his limbs, and took out an eye. The whole time Sakir showed no emotion. Just stood there, staring at James.

"Why don't you just kill him? It won't be as painful that way!"

"Now…now you… want me to…to die?"

James looked at Sakir, who said his first words since the torturing began.

"Sakir. I'm sorry Sakir. This wasn't supposed to happen. I never meant for this to happen."

"James. Please. Don't…don't obsess over this. Promise me, that when this…when this is over, you'll do something for me."

"Anything, what is it?"

"Teach these guys a lesson, no one deserves this, not even you, for that, they deserve death, whether you think so or not. Death is a horrible thing, but sometimes it's important, it's part of life. Remember that."

"It's too bad, James, you'd know not to do that though. If you ever turned on us, we'd do this to you. Kill him." With that, Sakir's head was severed clean of his neck.

"Would you like to keep it?" asked the man, holding it up to James.

"You're wrong."

"What was that?"

"You're wrong. Wrong about everything. Most importantly, you're wrong about me, and Sakir. I'll honor his last request. Trust me."

"Ha! And how will you do tha..."

He was interrupted by a metal claw in his stomach. The fourth in command of the White Knights fell to the ground dead.

"And you! You!" James yelled, pointing his claws at the two torturers. "How can you live with yourself after what you have done? After all the pain you have caused, physically, and emotionally. Sakir was right; no man deserves what you two have done to countless people. You, you have no right to live!"

Before he could attack them though, the one on the right charged, swinging a spike club viciously at James. James ducked and sidestepped, dodging every swing with ease. When he found an opening, he rammed into the man's side, knocking him over. He brought him to an end before he could stand.

"You're, you're a mad man!" Screamed the other.

"No worse than you are," spat James. He charged towards him and was met with a punch to the gut. James stepped backward to catch his breath.

"Kill him, kill him now!" Screamed the torturer. The archers on the wall realized what was happening immediately. The shot volley after volley at James, who continued to dodge them. Finally he was pierced by two arrows to the side. He pulled them out and screamed, but kept fighting, finally felling the other torturer.

"He's not human! Take him down now!"

James was hit with another arrow, this time in the shoulder.

"I don't have a choice, I gotta run!" Making his decision, he ran south, towards Taverly. He was chased by a group of six or seven soldiers.

"I have to keep running. No matter what!"

As he ran, he grew even more tired. He was losing an alarming amount of blood, and the chasers still looked fresh. He was beginning to think he would never find salvation.

It was then that he saw Taverly. The druids were going about their daily activities. One of them spotted him, and ran towards him.

"I need help. Please, help me. They are coming after me!"

"Who?" asked the druid? He turned around and saw the soldiers sprinting over. An arrow landed right next to him.

"Heathens! You would dare fight on this sacred ground of Guthix!" The druid was joined by several others. They all pulled runes out of their robes and began chanting. Green hands rose from the ground and held the men. "If you do not promise to leave, we will kill you!" The soldiers paled, and nodded. The druids let go, and the soldiers ran.

"Am, am I safe here?" asked James, energy leaving his body.

"Yes child. Now come, rest, Guthix knows, you need it."

---------------------------------

James awoke the next day around noontime. He sat up and noticed he was wearing new clothes, a regular white shirt and pants. His Burthorpe clothes were in a pile on the wall, next to a large chest, which was open and contained all of his belongings. He stood up and instantly clutched his side, which was not completely healed. Falling back to the bed, he began to breathe heavily. After a moment, the pain subsided. he slowly stood up again. It still hurt, but he was expecting it. After slowly rising, he was able to fight the pain.

He hobbled over to the window on the other side of the room and opened the curtains. Sunlight flooded in the room, lighting up every corner. It was then he noticed a cup of water and some bread on a table next to his bed. He made his way there, and began to eat. As he did so, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he finally managed to say, as he swallowed a hunk of bread, leaving the rest on the plate. He instantly recognized the man who walked in. It was the druid he had met when he first came to Taverly.

"You are finally up. That is good. How do you feel?"

"Horrible. Is there anything you can do to ease the pain?"

"Sorry child, not anymore than we already have. It was a great deal of work closing up the wounds. It will heal fine in good time."

"Oh, ok. Thank you." There was an awkward silence, until the druid spoke.

"When you are ready, please come see me outside." James nodded and finished eating as the druid walked out of the room. He sat for a few minutes, too tired to move, but eventually he moved to the door, and outside.

"Ah, you were quick to come. That is good."

"What exactly do you need me for?"

"Well, to learn the ways of Guthix! You asked to learn!"

"When did I say such a thing?" Asked James, who was now confused. The druid wasn't exactly wrong, but it just seemed odd to him that he knew.

"You were mumbling about it in your sleep all night. Of course, if you don't want to, you may leave now."

"No, no, of course not. It's just, well, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to. I killed an innocent man, I'm not worthy."

"You are confusing Guthix's morals with that of Saradomin. Death is a part of life, and evil is a part of good. Balance is needed. Although killing innocents isn't encouraged, in Guthix's eyes, you did nothing wrong. It is all a part of the balance of the world, and that is the first thing you must understand. And besides, from what I could tell, those men you killed were not at all innocent. You should try to talk less in your sleep as well; a lot can be learned about a person that way." The druid smiled at the last sentence, James just reddened and gazed at the ground.

"So, now what?"

"Well, I guess the first thing to do would be to tell you about Guthix and his ways. Then, you should learn the art of herblore, and making potions, as well as poisons. There is much to learn, but you have a lot of time. Come."

James followed him, excited to finally begin a new life to be proud of.

------------------------

"Seriously?"

"Well, that's what he told me. He'll be here soon. In fact, there he is now."

The man motioned to the door, and in walked someone who was quite obviously a soldier. He had scars all over his face and a bow on his back. He had two quivers as well, one on his back that held his arrows, and one on his leg, which had an array of different throwing knives. He didn't wear any of his armor at the moment though, and instead wore a red shirt and black pants, gathered up at the knee.

"Oi, over here," said one of the men, holding up a beer glass. The new arrival hastily walked up to them and sat down, taking the glass given to him. "Where were you?"

"Meeting with the council," he replied, trying to get his pants to fall comfortably again. "One of the advisors told me to look formal." he continued gruffly.

"Wow, very formal looking, almost mistook you for the king." joked the first man.

"It looks awful, by the way," said the other.

"Yeah, shut up. All it was was about the events of the last attack, it was ridiculous!"

"Oh, how you suffer! Get over it, and drink!" cheered the first man.

"If you say so," murmered the third, taking a sip from his glass. The bar was filled with it's usual folk. Off duty guards, regular villagers, and merchants who were stopping in town. The man looked at the bartender, who was gazing heavily at a table in the corner. He turned his head to see who it was he was so concerned about. Two strangely garbed men were talking eagerly in a different language. They looked very dark, he guessed they were from the desert. After more moments of rapid discussion, one of the men produced a strange pouch from his coat and gave it to the other. He in turn was paid a small sum of gold. After the transaction, the bartender seemed to look away, no longer interested. He greeted the new arrivals with his usual vigor.

"So, you're positive it was him? The rumors are true," asked one of the first men, snapping the third back into reality.

"Yeah," growled the archer, setting the beer on the table. "It's official, he deserted us. I don't care if Burthorpe didn't fight us, he joined them."

"I wonder why? You think it had anything to do with Sakir?"

"Must've been, they were great friends, the two of them."

"I don't care why," barked the soldier, slamming the glass on the table, nearly breaking it. "He had no reason to desert us, in such an important time. He was a hero, and now he's a villain. I've lost all respect for him."

"Oh come now Haddlin, he was still a friend of ours, and he still helped us defeat Falador, traitor or not."

"But Merk, that's just it! Falador isn't defeated yet, as you can see! We could use his help."

"It's not like he was a good fighter anyway."

"Hey, I have an idea!" The two looked at Mark, expectantly. "He was good friends with that Urantan guy staying upstairs right? Let's just go ask him why he deserted, he might know."

After a quick second of thinking, the three of them agreed, and made their way upstairs. The found him in his room, playing with a new air spell. The room was a mess, probably from his blowing the objects around. As they walked it, he was trying to put out a candle without blowing it into a wall.

"Hmm, death runes definitely aren't the best for the job." He muttered to himself, and then scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Oh, hello boys, come in, have a seat." He picked up some runes and motioned for the three chairs on the other side of the room. The chairs went speeding towards the trio, who ducked around into the hall, slamming the door shut. They were rewarded with the sound of the seats crashing into the door, and breaking.

"This guy's crazy," whispered Mark under his breath. Haddlin just scowled and shoved the door open.

"We'll stand, thanks," he said, trying his best to be polite. The chairs were in a heap on the floor.

"Suit yourself. You want anything, maybe a glass of water?"

"No! No, umm, we're fine."

"You sure? All right then," he said, putting some runes back down on his desk. "What can I do for you?"

"You know James Farmer, right?"

"Y-Yes. Yes I do. It's too bad, that he converted, don't you think. So sad. Oh well, what are you going to do eh? That's life. Anything else that you wanted?"

"Umm, we'd like to know more about James, maybe you knew why he converted, or how he somehow ended up in Burthorpe without passing by Falador or Varrock?"

"I have no idea. You'd have to ask someone who knew how to use magical devices."

"Wait, but, you're a wizard!"

"Me? You must be mistaken! I am but a humble rune merchant, who knows nothing of magic, as you can see quite obviously, from my magical skill."

"Oh, ok then," said Mark, turning around. Haddlin grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back into the room.

"Tell us the truth! I saw you battle during the Wizard Tower resistance two weeks ago. You took on every wizard yourself and nearly defeated them all, if it weren't for the few cowards who teleported away."

"Oh, you must be mistaken, that wasn't me. How could it have been, I have been here for weeks and weeks."

"Not only that," continued Haddlin, as if he said nothing, "But you were gone, apparently in Lumbridge, and then seen in Draynor, the very same day James disappeared. Next thing we knew, James was with the Burthorpe army. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a hand in his conversion."

"My dear boy, you must be mistaken. How could I have done such a thing, the very same who killed the White Knight Commander Taleka just a few days ago?"

"So, you admit to knowing how to use magic?" asked Haddlin, eyeing him closely.

Urantan stumbled out a response. "That's not the point of the argument at hand. The point is, why would I deliver the boy to them if I am quite obviously against them, as you so eloquently put it, the same man who defeated nearly all of the wizard resistance?."

Meanwhile, Mark and Merk, who were not ones for the thinking man's game such as this, were exploring the room. Large amounts of mystical and magical oddities were lined up on shelves. Merk thought he had set up a pretty permanent residence here, form the looks of things. Large tomes were organized alphabetically on all the shleves to the right of the room. The north wall contained runes, that also seemed to be organized in some matter. On the left were magical onjects. Bits of enchanted jewelry, strange statue heads, and odd looking robes lines these shelves, although it seemed they were not completely organized yet.

As Mark browsed the shelves, ignoring the two men argueing in back of him, he spotted a cloak. There was nothing odd about the cloak, but it was covering something, he could tell. What ever it was covering was alive, the cloak moved up and down, as if a breathing human body. He reached up to touch it, but tripped on the way, knocking the cloak, and whatever it covered, to the ground.

"Ahh, man that hurt," he said, sitting up and rubbing his head. On the floor lay the cloak, and next to it, a staff, glowing with power. Mark reached out to touch it and and could feel power the power pulsating off it.

"Hey, I'd... I'd recognize that anywhere!" yelled Haddlin, rushing over to it. Urantan reached out to stop him, but it was far too late for that.

"Oh dear," whispered Urantan, sitting up.

"It can't be!" yelled Mark.

"It is," said Haddlin in disbelief. "I read about this staff, there's only two like it. It has the very power of Saradomin himself, allowing Saradomin's spell to be cast with greater force. One is in possession of the old man who lives in Draynor. The other, well, all we knew was that it was in the hands of a Faladorian mage. We saw it first hand, the day we defeated Sir Amik Varze. This is the very same staff that was used against us. That means," he said, turning around to look at Urantan, "That means you work for Falador!"

"Not quite. I no longer side with Falador, but I did, once upon a time. My final act for them was delivering your good friend, James, to Burthorpe. I'm terribly sorry, but nothing could be done. I needed those rune stones, I needed to study them. I needed to be the first man to truly harness their power."

"At the price of selling an innocent human's life."

"But you are wrong about that. You see, James knew what he was doing as soon as he met up with the wizard's from the tower. All I did was bring him to Burthorpe. I made no decisions for him. But I would not worry about him any longer. From what I know about Falador, James will already be dead."

"And how is that?"

"After they chose to torture him, which they must have done, considering he retreated, he must have fought them, knowing his nature, and the nature of the torture. At that point, the entire Burthorpe army is after him. Your friend is dead by now, so no worries!"

"I don't know how you know all this, but I guess we have no choice but to believe you." said Haddlin. He wasn't about to get into another argument, and the more he thought about it, the more he cared less and less about the filthy traitor. "Thank you, sir. You have shed some light on the subject. I'm just curious, what is the form of torture that they use?"

"It is called 'the repercussions,' in which your dearest friend is tortured in your place, because of you. Your friend is eventually killed, and you have to live with the guilt knowing it was your fault. Hmm, let me think, what was the friend's name, started with an S. Let's see, he came from the desert, I believe you knew him."

"Sakir," they all whispered together. They looked down at their feet, willing themselves to control their feelings. "He, he was alive," whispered Haddlin. "That, that must be why. He must have been trying to save Sakir."

"And…and now he's dead. Thanks to James, the very same trying to help him. And now James must be dead too."

"Let's…let's go, we should probably tell Danik. Thank you again, sir."

Urantan nodded and shut the door after them.


	5. Chapter 5: New Beginnings

_This is a long one, and a good one. Have fun!_

**Chapter 5: New beginnings **

"You have come far in the past month," said the old druid. 

"Thank you," said James, bowing deeply. He had been training and learning with the druid, Hajex, since he arrived. It was hard, but he enjoyed it deeply. It was just yesterday that Hajex told him he had taught him enough, and that a ceremony would be held today. The ceremony was welcoming James in the rank of druids. He had discussed this with Hajex though, and decided he'd be a traveling druid, like others, because he wished to start a new life, and wanted to be far away from Burthorpe.

"I present to you these robes; they are the mark of a true druid."

"Umm, if it's all right, I'd like to keep my Burthorpe clothes." James looked down at the ground. The druids attending the ceremony looked confused, one of them laughed, but most just looked amazed that James would say such a thing.

"Child, why would you even consider such a thing," asked Hajex? "First off, all those garments will do is remind you of the terrible days with their army, and the terrible event that took place. Not only that, but there are not a great many places you would like to go that would allow you to visit wearing them."

"I know that. It's just that they have become like a second skin, and it would feel odd wearing robes." James realized that what he was saying was probably a really stupid request, but he didn't like the idea of wearing robes.

"Hmm, I have an idea. We usually don't wear these, but I'm sure it would fit your purposes much greater." Hajex told a young druid to run into his home and retrieve something. The young man did so quickly, and returned holding a pair of dark green pants and a shirt of the same color. The clothes greatly resembled the ones from Burthorpe, and came complete with a dark green mask.

"These were the garments our ancestors, the first druids, wore. This is what inspired the Burthorpe clothes, although they chose black for a color instead. At the time, disease was common; we had not yet mastered making cures from herbs, so the mask was for a practical use. I believe you can make good use of them."

James bowed deeply again and quickly said his thanks. The clothes looked very strange though, but he thought he just wasn't used to seeing them in green. He wasn't about to say anything to the druids either, these were almost considered sacred clothes. Instead, he quickly put them on, and handed his old white clothes to another druid.

"Go now child, it is time you returned home, or rather, Falador. It would be wise to keep the mask on. Also, it would be wise to keep your weapons hidden until it is time to do battle, Guthix forbid you should have to. Claws are immediately paired with the Burthorpe army. Like I have warned you many times over, stay out of sight until it is safe. Find someone you know you can trust. And now, everyone, before he leaves, let us grant him our blessing.

"May you walk the path, and never fall, for Guthix walks beside thee on thy journey. May Guthix bring you peace." All the druids joined in on the last sentence, and James found himself waving goodbye as he set out through the large gate that separated him, and the road to Falador.

It was a long and uneventful journey to the city. Because of recent events, highwayman patrolled different streets than before, most flocking between Lumbridge and Varrock. It wasn't until the next day that he arrived at the walls of Falador.

"Hey, you, you're with that army, up north. Burtherope or something," yelled one of the guards.

"I assure you," said James, "I am not from the Burthorpe army. There clothes are a dark black, whilst mine are green, a symbol to Guthix. I am a wandering Druid, who wishes to live peacefully in this city."

"Umm, I don't know if I can let you in, let me go ask someone," yelled the guard, who ran down the stairs and presumably through the city.

"Why do they have such idiots for guards?" He murmured to himself.

"Hello there, state your name and your business."

James looked up to see a rather annoyed looking Urantan speaking to him. "I am a traveling druid, as you can probably see from my clothes. My name is of no importance, you would not know me, and it would make no difference."

"I know a lot more than you probably think," said Urantan, with a large smile. "Let him in," he said to the guards, who immediately opened the large gates. Confused, James strode into the city. As he walked in, he looked around for the full effect. People were going about their day, going to the salon or general store. Children were laughing and playing in the streets, and guards patrolled the area.

"This place looks a lot better," said James, happy that his previous efforts were not in vain.

"It has changed a lot, eh? Now, do tell, how did you escape? Come, I'll get you a drink, and you can tell me all about it." James could barely digest this information before Urantan was already walking into the local pub.

"How do you know," Said James, running to catch up to him? "Be quiet, we shall discuss this in the privacy of my room."

Having tons of questions, but deciding to listen to his advice, James just followed Urantan into the pub. The bottom floor was surprisingly empty, save for one rouge like man leaning back in his chair. He winked at James, and then tipped his hat over his eyes; so he could take a nap.

"Who was that?"

"Ah, pay no attention to him. He's not the type to get mixed up in."

Realizing all answers would be like this until he reached Urantan's room; he tried to shut his mouth again. The two walked up the stairs, took a right into the corridor, and locked themselves in. Taking a quick look around, James noticed an odd looking lumpy cloak on the floor, as well as a pile of broken chairs by the door.

"Oh, pardon me; I haven't cleaned up in ages. Don't normally get company, you know. Fancy a glass of water?"

"No, I'm not thirsty," said James, trying to find somewhere safe to sit.

"No one ever is," said Urantan disappointedly. "Now, before I tell you anything, you must tell me your riveting tale from the very point I left Burthorpe. Also, take that mask off, it looks strange to talk to someone with it on." James obliged, wanting to tell someone about what happened, and quickly jumped into the story. Urantan was a good listener, and didn't interrupt at all. Finally, when James finished, Urantan pulled out a few runes, and 'created' a glass of water for James, and pushed it through the air towards him. "You must be thirsty after all that, no matter what you say. Honestly, I'm not sure I needed such description during the repercussions, but otherwise, you seem to be doing well for yourself."

"Yeah," said James, swallowing his water. "No, you have to answer my questions. One, who's side are you on? Two, why did you defect, first to Falador, then back to Varrock, and three, how are my old friends?"

"All good questions. One, it is quite safe to say I am on Varrock's side as of now, but who knows, I just go for the highest bidder. As for why, I already explained that. One of my biggest faults is that I love studying spells and creating new ones. The only problem is, Varrock hardly has the everyday funding to provide me the high quality rune stones, and for that, I take on special jobs. Sometimes I'll do a job for Varrock, considering they can pay some of the time, and sometimes I work for Falador. I am greedy, and I hate my self for it."

"So, you're basically a mercenary?"

"One could say that, yes."

"Good to know. Now, could you please tell me how my friends fare?"

"They are all fine. Danik is now a royal bodyguard to King Roald himself. Mark, Merk, and Haddlin are leaders of the army stationed here in Falador, and mostly fight off small resistance. The Wizard's Tower has been giving them a lot of trouble lately." James looked relieved, and sighed. An awkward moment went by, until Urantan finally broke the silence. "What do you plan to do now?"

"I…I haven't really thought about it. I messed up bad though. I think what I would like to do the most was help stop the resistance."

"You are optimistic to the point of foolishness; the Falador army wouldn't accept you. They go through a large screening process, and as soon as they figure out who you are, well, good luck."

"Yeah, I realized that. I was thinking, maybe, I could start my own little group. We would all be against Old Falador, and would fight them as we pleased. We might provide aid to the Varrock army, but until then, we are merely a group of, well, mercenaries, without the pay."

"Ha. You are mad, hardly anyone would take the job, considering an honest man could just join the army, and a dishonest man would want some pay."

"Would you be willing to join?" Asked James hopefully, ignoring Urantan's last comment.

"Some incentive would be nice," said Urantan, not expecting anything. James nodded, and reached into the leather pouch on his waist. He pulled out several large runes, four runes with a symbol of what looked like lava, four that had a symbol that resembled a drop of blood, and one containing a bright star.

"These are all rare runes given to me by the druids before I left. I have no idea how to use them, and I'm guessing you do."

Urantan quickly snatched them out of James's hand. "You do me a great honor. But, how did the druids come across these runes?"

"The druids have a great many friends in a great many places. I'm not allowed to tell you anymore of our secrets. So, are the runes enough to make you join me?"

Urantan nodded it over, thinking of all the possibilities in his head. After a long moment of silence, he responded, "James Farmer, I will join you, but not because of these runestones you have provided. I will join you on this quest, as a friend." Urantan stood up, and the two shook hands. "I have an idea, please wait here a moment, I'll be right back!"

Before James could say anything, Urantan was out the door. He decided to get up and look around the room. He walked over to the far corner, where he found an array of magical devices on a shelf; magical talismans, old scrolls, and a beautiful amulet with a large sapphire in the center. On the shelf next to it were numerous other pieces of enchanted jewelry, including a ring with a dark purple stone on it, which made James feel happy as soon as he brought his hand over it. At the very end was another ring, this one with a bright looking diamond on it. As soon as James touched it, he felt life come back into his body. He smiled, and without thinking, grabbed the ring and thrust it in his pocket. It's not going to do anything rotting in here he reasoned to himself.

He continued to circle around the room, until he came to Urantan's desk. There was a large piece of parchment with numerous incantations written upon it. Next to it were a few runestones. James picked up a few that looked like they had symbols of smoke on them. As he held them, he went through his head, trying to remember that one incantation that Urantan had taught him. He said it was very important to know, and that he should always keep some fire and air runes on him because of it. Since these runes were fire and air combined, he figured they would work fine.

"Fl-flamma exuro libere… flamma exuro validus… adveho quod ser… servo mihi ex is ne…nefas." As soon as James finished the last syllable, power began to surge through his body. All his energy went towards his hands. Not used to using magic, he couldn't control the energy. He fell to the floor, shaking, not being able to let go. After a few seconds, the power began to fade. Then, in a sudden eruption, a giant ball of flame leapt from his entire body and burned straight through the roof. It went what James thought must have been at least twenty feet high, and then exploded, burning ashes falling towards the ground. As James got up, he heard someone running up the stairs.

"Fool! What have you done! You have ruined this city, and possibly Varrock!" James looked up to see a livid Urantan standing in the doorway. "We are done. We'll just have to round up the men! Why did I even bother to teach you that spell?!"

"Umm, what exactly happened, and why is this such a big deal?" As he spoke, James heard numerous citizens outside panicking and screaming in terror. The guards were trying their best to calm everyone down, but it had little effect.

"I'll explain as fast as possible, I can give you more details later. Come, we'll talk as we go; we must go see the current leader of the city, now! And put your mask back on, someone will recognize you!" Urantan grabbed James's arm and dragged him out the door. Before leaving, Urantan grabbed a large amount of runes from his desk and put them in his robes, as well as grabbing a staff with a glowing white orb at the top.

"To put it simply," he yelled as they ran downstairs, trying to be heard over the crowd hiding in the pub. "Wait a moment," said Urantan, running over to a guard who was boarding up the door. "We have to get out of here!"

"Oh no you don't. We just finished boarding this place up!" He said, hammering the last nail for emphasis.

"You couldn't possibly have gotten all of the villagers in here!"

"Naah, this is only one of the safety buildings."

"How can you be so calm?!" James yelled, running towards the two. "We are here to help fight, he is an accomplished wizard, and I a soldier. Are you really going to deny us passage?"

"Rules is rules, you should've been out there already!"

"Listen," said Urantan, pulling out an earth rune and clutching his staff in his other hand, "You're going to pull those boards off and let us out, or we knock the door down, and this won't be a very safe place." The guard didn't seem phased at first, but this response was met with Urantan beginning an incantation, at which the guard obliged to the request and began to pull of the boards as fast as possible. Urantan took this time to explain to James.

"Basically, we are not ready for an attack. Varrock as had increasing trouble to the east of the city. What is going on there doesn't concern you, so you will not ask me about it, I hardly know anything myself. The point is, we needed to pull back troops. We had to do so without letting the wizards know, of course, or else they would attack us. They have multiple spies within the city, to which we have been feeding false information. The problem is, the spell you just fired is an SOS spell, which was probably something close to the signal the spies would've used when and if they found out we are in a state of weakness."

"So you're saying I just gave the signal for an army of highly trained wizards, as well as any other fighters who may be aiding them, to come attack us, while we have next to no men to defend the city?" "Well, yes, you could say that."

"Right," said James, who withdrew the metallic claws from his pouch. A collective gasp went around the room as he fastened them on. The guard, who was otherwise occupied, withdrew his sword and directed his attention at James.

"Stop this nonsense!" Yelled Urantan, before anyone could move. "He acquired these weapons while traveling, and has now taken a liking to them. He is completely ready to help defend this town with his life. You have my word; I am Urantan of Yanille, of the order of the elite Mages Guild, who has separated themselves from the wizard tower. I have helped your town in time of need many a time, and even fought the wizards myself. If you can not trust me, who can you trust?" James almost laughed at the last sentence, but caught himself and disguised it as a cough. The guard, satisfied, backed down and pulled the last board of. The two of them ran outside and shut the door behind them.

As James walked out, he saw complete chaos. The few citizens who had yet to seek shelter were running around town square, trying to find a house or building not yet boarded up, that would help. The few guards they could spare tried to calm them down and lead them to the jewelry store in the south, but it did not help. The few already trained soldiers and guards were heading for the south gate, getting in position. The archers on the walls were desperately lighting fires to use on their arrows. Mages walked through the streets muttering incantations, trying to figure out what spell to use.

Worst of all, at least to James, there were young teenage boys being given weapons and fit for whatever little armor they had left. The young men had no idea how to fight or survive in battle, much like James. One boy looked at him with hopeful eyes, hoping the coming battle would not happen. James looked away, once again angry with himself.

"Come," commanded Urantan, who was running off to the castle. James quickly followed, and the two made their way up the stone steps. They made their way through the confusing castle on an all too familiar route. As they climbed the ladder to the old room of Sir Amik Varze, James's head was filled with terrible memories. He quickly flushed them out, and continued climbing.

"Urantan! I thought you would never come! What has happened?" James found the voice belonged to a rather old man, maybe in his fifties, who looked like he had been in his fair share of battles. He wore no armor, but had an immensely large sword on his back.

"In a moment, Ussieus. First, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, who will be fighting for us, if you wish it. He is a traveling druid, who uses the weapons of the Burthorpe army, obviously against them."

"Welcome," said the man heartily, holding out his hand to James. "My name us Ussieus, Duke of Falador, appointed by King Roald. Your name?"

"My name is…Rikas," said James, realizing it wouldn't be wise to give his real name.

"Odd name for a druid, but who am I to say. But I digress, Urantan, we should really get back to the battle."

"That may be a good idea, yes." James got the idea that they were thinking of the coming fight as a joke.

"Well, a flare spell was accidentally fired by the very same before you, which is why I was hoping you would accept him first. He did it unknowingly and is deeply sorry. The good news, the spies still know none of our secrets. The bad news, well, it won't matter if we lose the city now. Do we have any defense strategies?"

"Not exactly," said Ussieus. "The soldiers here are still very under trained. I tried to argue with Roald, but I don't think he cares much for this city, even though it's under his control. Either way, there isn't an amazing amount of hope."

"Hmm, we'll have to make due as we go. We should probably make our way to the gate." Ussieus nodded, and the three of them walked outside. As they went, a strange mist, a vaguely familiar one, filled the city.

"These wizards use the same tactics every time. It's a shame; I was hoping they'd try something new."

They walked in silence, although James continuously had to put his hand in front of him to stop himself from walking into something. They finally found the gate, where James was directed into a certain unit by Ussieus. Urantan and Ussieus walked over to right in front of the gate, where James could hardly see them, even though they weren't very far away.

"Today," began Ussieus. "Today, we fight. We fight four ourselves, our family, and for the freedom and goodwill of man! These wizards may be superior, but has not stopped us. Think of how the great heroes claimed this very city, not long ago. If they could accomplish such a great feat, we can at least defend this city in their name. For Danik!" The soldiers shouted Danik in response. "Haddlin!" The soldiers again shouted Haddlin's name in response. "Mark! Merk, and Sakir! Even today, we shall celebrate James Farmer, who taught us how a man can become something greater, and how easily to is to lose greatness!" The men cheered in response, but with much less vigor. James wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult.

"We fight for these men as they fought for us. Some of them are still fighting; three of them now stand amongst you, ready to die for their cause. It is for this reason we shall confront our enemies!" As Ussieus said this, the giant gates nearly slammed open. "We will charge fiercely into battle!" Another bang. "We shall fight with no mercy!" The wood began to splinter. "And we shall fulfill our destiny!" On cue, the gates bursted open, revealing hundreds of wizards, in varying colors of clothes.

"N-n-n-n-necromancers!" Yelled the soldier next to James. With this, the men in black robes smiled, and began yelling incantations. At least one skeleton or zombie for every necromancer was summoned. "Zombies are weak to fire. Archers, that's you!" The archers nodded, and thrust their arrows into the fires burning next to them. They all got ready and waited for Haddlin's command.

"Try your best to find one, and shoot. Better if you find a zombie, but just go for anything that looks like an enemy! Now, fire!" The archers responded by sending a volley of arrows into the enemy ranks. Numerous shrieks were heard, from human and undead alike.

"Now now, that's not fair!" The head wizard brought a large amount of water runes from his robes. "Ver Pluo, Estas Tempestas, Pluvia super lemma, suum spera dubium." The runes from his hand disappeared, their energy floating to the sky. As they reached the clouds overhead, they turned into dark storm clouds. It began to rain fiercely, effectively putting out the fires.

"A minor setback," yelled Urantan, trying to think of a plan.

"Soldiers, charge!" Ussieus ran without thinking, straight into the group of mages. The soldiers followed suit. They two groups collided, and along with the mist, made it harder to see. James noticed numerous soldiers began killed by the archers on the wall.

"Caliga Absum!" James heard Urantan yell, and the mist evaporated. James now got a better look at Urantan, who was firing spell after spell, muttering the incantations under his breath.

"Urantan, look out," yelled James, as he spotted an enemy zombie going up behind him. Urantan took out a fire rune, and without even looking back, sent a giant ball of flame towards the zombie, who fell to the ground and burned to ash. As Urantan slowly got circled in, James began to run towards him. Before James or the surrounding enemies could do anything, Urantan swung his staff around, creating a giant gust of wind that pushed back the entire group.

"James, I'll be fine on my own. Concentrate on surviving yourself, I don't want to be unemployed!"

James nodded and turned around, to come face to face with a giant skeleton. As swung and stabbed at the bone, but didn't seem to hurt it at all. Realizing this, he instead jumped up and grabbed a bone on its chest, which was surprisingly sturdy. James pulled himself up and climbed up to the skull, which he tore of and threw in the air, where it was hit by an incoming arrow. James jumped off to solid ground right before the skeleton fell into a pile of bones.

"Not bad," yelled a familiar voice. James looked over his shoulder to see Mark, who was fending off to zombies at once.

"Thanks," said James, wishing he could say more. He approached one of the zombies and slashed at its chest. This gave Mark an opening to slash at its heart, which is the zombie's weak point. It fell in a pile of flesh and blood.

"You're not half bad your self," yelled James.

A blast of fire suddenly streamed by James's ear. He quickly ripped around and slashed the wizard in the chest. The enemy clutched his chest, and pulled out some runes with his other hand. Before he had a chance to use the spell, James stabbed him in the heart, ending his life.

"Thy death was not in vain," began James, staring at the lifeless body, ignoring the battle. "For it brought some balance to the world. May Guthix bring you rest." The druids had taught him to honor every living soul that he had killed, so that he could cope with killing. It didn't help as much as he would've liked, but he honored them, and Guthix, just the same.

"What are you doing wasting time, you'll be killed," shouted Mark! Just as he did so, James was hit by a giant stone. Mark ran over to James, while another soldier dealt with the wizard. Mark rolled the stone off James with as much vigor as he could muster.

"Please, reach into my pouch," began James, trying to find the energy to speak. "You'll find a glass vial filled with a white liquid. Give me some!" Mark complied, and dipped a few drops of the contents into James' mouth. The potion seemed to give James a little energy, enough to sit up at least.

"Think you can fight?"

"Maybe," groaned James, gingerly touching his chest. He assumed he broke a few bones on his rib cage.

"Whoa!"

"What?" Asked James. Mark merely pointed in the distance, as did many others. There was Wizard Traiborn, leader of the mage tower, fighting Urantan. Nearly all of the enemy wizards and necromancers as well as the Varrock soldiers stopped to watch.

"Undo of Obscurum!" As he yelled this, a giant wave began to form in back of Urantan. As it reached at least three times Urantan's height, it went through him, towards Traiborn.

"Volatilis Suggestus of Terra," screamed Traiborn, smashing an earth rune on the ground. The earth around him created a circle, which floated high enough to just barely hover over the passing wave.

"Procella of Ventus," hollered Urantan, holding out his staff. Numerous bursts of wind shot at Traiborn, who dodged each shot. In return, Traiborn sent a volley of water arrows at Urantan, who dodged nearly all of them, but was hit by the last on in the arm, forcing him to drop his staff.

Urantan mumbled another incantation, withdrawing a fire and earth stone, not wanting to use his lava runes. As he did so, a giant fireball went straight towards Traiborn. When Traiborn dodged the fireball, he didn't have time to see the giant stone that was right behind it, hurtling towards him. As he was hit by it, he was thrown back, and just barely was able to grab on to the edge of the stone.

"You are a formidable opponent, I'll give you that, but your spells don't have nearly enough to power to defeat me. Give up; in a one on one duel, you stand no chance." He then pulled out some runes and began chanting something.

"One last chance," said Urantan to himself, reaching into his robes. He pulled out the three runes James had given him, the lava runes, and with his other injured hand, the blood runes. He quickly prayed to Saradomin, and began the incantation, before Traiborn could finish his.

"Laqueus of terra quod aestuo!" A wall of flame appeared under Traiborn. As Traiborn moved his floating stone to the left, the fire followed. Traiborn just barely noticed the stone that appeared above him. He quickly directed his platform backwards, dodging the stone completely. Another one appeared, forcing Traiborn to move to the right. One last, massive stone appeared, in which Traiborn moved close to Urantan, so that the blaze was right in front of him.

"A perfect spot, thank you," said Urantan politely. He transferred his lava and blood rune to one hand, and with his other hand withdrew a single nature rune from his robes. He raised his hands in the air, and as he did so, four giant spiked vines rose from the ground, towards Traiborn. As they rose, the thorns grew longer. Just before Traiborn tried to move, the vines grabbed him, and held him to the spot. The thorns got large enough to hit the platform he was on, shattering it. The vines then slowly pulled Traiborn into the flames, where he let out a painful screech, to be his last sound he made on this world.

"Traiborn is dead!"

"We can't survive now!"

"Retreat!"

The wizards, who seemed far less in number now that Traiborn was gone, created a giant veil of smoke. As the smoke disappeared, the only ones left were the Falador army.

James looked at Urantan, who raised his hand high in the air. The men all cheered, and as if in response, Urantan fainted and fell to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6: The Council of Elders

_This one was fun to write, so let's hope it's fun to read._

**Chapter 6: The Council of Elders**

Mark picked James up and put his arm around his shoulder. He slowly dragged him back towards the city, where everyone was returning. Everyone was walking, or even running, excitedly towards the gate, speaking with their friends. The amount of Faladorian casualties was surprisingly slim, although still too much, in James' mind.

"I think you owe me an explanation," said Mark as they made their way to the gate.

"For what?" Asked James, surprised.

"Who are you? You have green clothes of a druid, ones that look uncannily like Burthorpe garments. You also use the very weapons the Burthorpe army employs, in much the same exact style. You fight strong and well, and choose to honor every human life you take away. Not only that, you sound vaguely familiar, even though I'm fairly positive that I never met you before."

_Since when was Mark so smart?_ Though James, but quickly remembered the problem at hand. _What do I do? I don't know at all how to answer this. I need some help._

"Hey Mark, who's that?" James slowly turned his neck to see who the speaker was. Instantly, he recognized the twin brother of Mark, Merk. Merk jogged over, and James saw he only suffered minor wounds from the battle.

"I don't know," replied Mark. "I just asked him, although he seems familiar."

"Hmm." Merk went in front of them and looked straight at James. "How about you take the mask off?" Merk reached out to grab it but James quickly knocked his hand away.

"I'd…I'd rather keep the mask on, please."

"Suit yourself, what happened to you?"

"He got hit by a giant stone," said Mark. "Can you give me a hand?" Merk complied and grabbed James's other arm. Moving much faster, they made it to the gate, where they found Haddlin climbing down a ladder.

"What happened to him?" asked Haddlin, making his way over to the three boys. Haddlin looked completely unscathed from the battle. Mark was about to answer when Ussieus went over to them.

"Good job everyone. As for you Rikas," James mentally kicked himself, forgetting he already had a fake alias he could've told Mark. "I want you to come with me. You can come as well, Urantan's waiting."

"When did he get up? And how did he get ahead of us?" asked James.

"We retrieved him and brought him back to the castle. He's now quietly sipping tea in my room. Come."

"Right, I think I can walk, or for the most part," said James, who experimentally took a few small steps. It was painful, but he didn't want to look weak, so he began walking by himself anyway. After quickly looking at each other, unsure if they should let him go or not, Merk, Merk, and Haddlin followed after, staying close to James in case he fell.

Guards and soldiers who survived were going to all the safety buildings, giving the signal to open the doors. With a loud bang, James heard the door to the inn being opened. When the guard finally finished, the woman and children all ran out to see their family. Watching it gave James a moment of pride, knowing that he helped keep all these people safe, and the families together.

They made their way through the courtyard and back up to the tower. Sure enough, in Ussieus' room sat Urantan, sipping a hot cup of tea.

"Ah, good to see you all. Haddlin, Mark, and Merk." They looked confused, first at Urantan, then at James, wondering why he was ignoring him.

"We have some matters to discuss, like what to do next, which is very important. Please sit, drink some tea, you must be tired." Normally they would be scared of Urantan blowing up their tea cups, or something similar, but he was right, they were tired. Instead, they accepted the cups and began to drink deeply, sitting down on the fine mahogany chairs.

"Fancy a purple sweet? I must say, they are quite delicious. No one? Ah well, there are important matters to discuss. First off, you." Urantan pointed at James as he finished the statement. "It's hardly fair of you to keep these people in the dark. Shouldn't you remove your mask?"

James sat there, frozen. All eyes were on him. "Urantan, didn't we discuss this. You know I'm sensitive about these things."

"Are you a burn victim?" Asked Mark curiously.

"Not quite, but good guess. If I were in your position I would've guessed bad shaving. The first barber I went to when I needed a little trim was terrible, my face looked distorted for days," said Urantan, staring into space, reminiscing, no doubt, of his long past childhood. "No, not quite Mark. Now…Rikas, as you call yourself, I'd suggest you remove your mask. Although, I have been working on a spell to remove small items of clothing such as this, I don't have the right dosage of runes though. Although I would love a chance to test it on someone other than myself." To emphasize the point, Urantan bent over and began rummaging around a large pouch of his on the floor, containing numerous runestones.

"Th-that's okay. I can get it myself." _You knew this was going to happen eventually, _thought James. He let out a long sigh and brought his hand to the mask. After several moments of silence, his hand tightened, and he pulled on the mask, slipping it off with ease.

For a long moment, no one said anything. Finally, Mark took a few steps forward and leaned in close, to take a good look at James. Without warning, he punched him square in the cheek.

"I…I deserve that," murmured James, re-balancing himself. He looked at the floor, not saying a word. He was hardly fazed by the punch though, although everyone else seemed surprised, still not having recognized James for who he was. Urantan took another sip of his tea.

"What just happened?" asked Haddlin.

"Surely you recognize him?" replied Mark.

"Well, I admit the resemblance is… well… you don't know it's him."

"Oh come on!" yelled Mark. "Not only does he look and sound just like him, he uses Burthorpe weapons. Haddlin, you know it's him!"

"I agree. Haddlin, you can deny it all you want, why you wish too I don't know, but you are indeed looking at James Farmer. Now please, tell them your story, as you told it to me, but this time starting from when you first returned home, they may understand," stated Urantan, setting his now empty tea cup on the small table next to him.

James nodded, and began his story, starting with the letter he received. He didn't spare any details during the repercussions, wanting to let them know just how horrible they were to Sakir. He finished up quickly speaking of his training and his coming to Falador. When he finally ended the tale, everyone stared at him.

"I know that I shouldn't have converted anyway, but, as you can see, I'm completely with you now, and I'd like to help."

"James," began Haddlin, not quite knowing what to say. "We thought you were dead. Personally, I'm relieved just to see you sitting here, and as a friend. I'd be happy to accept you again, although it will take some getting used to."

"Quite. So, everyone's happy with each other, all friends?" Asked Urantan, no one said anything. "I'll assume that means yes. Now James, I'm assuming that you still wish to go through with this little group? Is it also safe to assume that these three will be joining you?"

"Sure, if they accept. The basic idea is that we would just be a small unit, once again, who fights Old Falador, and their remaining allies, themselves."

"I'm in. What about you?" asked Mark, looking at Merk. He nodded, and looked at Haddlin, who nodded in return.

"Ahh, very good!" said Urantan, clapping. "The reason being, we are employed. I was speaking to dear Ussieus about it moments before you arrived, in which he insisted on getting you. Naturally I accepted his offer; he will pay us a hefty sum of gold for fulfilling what he wants done."

"And what exactly does he want done?" questioned Haddlin.

"A good question, what exactly do you want done Ussieus?"

"Wait, you mean you accepted his contract before you even knew what we would be doing?" yelled James.

"Naturally, as long as it has to do with defeating Old Falador, you don't mind do you. Now, if we could let Ussieus speak, that would be very respectful."

"Right, of course," began Ussieus, feeling slightly out of place amongst them. "Since the wizards retreated, it's quite obvious to assume they returned home. As soon as Urantan, and young…James here, return to full health. I need you to scout out the place, tell us how many our left, and what they're working on."

"That doesn't sound so hard," said James, relieved. "As long as we stay out of sight, and we already know we are fairly good at that."

"Indeed. I've made arrangements so that you can sleep at the inn, no space left in the castle. I'd suggest you get some rest."

James nodded and yawned. Without waiting for anyone else, he left the room and headed for the inn. When he reached the city, he walked quickly, wanting some food and drink. He ordered ale and a small piece of chicken, and gave the bartender a few gold coins he received from the druids. As he sat down at the farthest table, someone approached him.

"Why hello there!" James looked up to see he was being greeted by the same man that was in the inn earlier, when he first arrived. The man sat himself down on the chair and took a swig of the drink in his hand. "I'm assuming you're James right? The druid one?"

"That would be me. Wait a second, how do you know me?"

"We rouges have ears in many places. In particular, maybe one at the bottom of Ussieus' room. Not really the point though, is it?" He stopped talking and took another gulp of his beer. James eyed him closely. He looked suspicious, although he no longer wore his feathered brown hat. He now had nothing on his head, giving James a good view of his eyes, which seemed to dart from side to side, watching for someone. His clothes looked impossibly odd and complicated, made of a black cloth and brown leather. At first glance one would think it was shoddily made, but after examining it closer, it seemed to fit the person very well.

"Is there something you wanted?"

"I came to tell you that the rouges, and a select few Burthorpian people, support your effort entirely. In particular, your eagerness to defeat Falador. Some of us hate them nearly as much as you. And, as a parting gift, I give you this." The man stood up and reached up his sleeve. He withdrew a leather pouch tied in a knot. He threw it on the table, and James slowly reached out and grabbed it. After much frustration, he got the knot off, and in the pouch sat a severed hand. The hand of a white knight. James looked up, but the man was gone. Disgusted, he left his food, as well as the hand, on the table, and instead got the key to his room. Not wanting to have to even think about what happened to him today, he immediately went to sleep.

He awoke the next morning to a bustle of activity downstairs. He went down, and found everyone crowding around the table he was sitting at, with guards trying to move the people back. People began craning their neck to see the table, which only had a plate of unfinished food on it, and an empty leather pouch.

"Nothing to see here! We've solved the case, you may leave!" The guard starting waving his arms in the air and motioning for the people to leave. No one seemed to listen though, and instead just tried to get a closer look.

"Of course," whispered James to himself. "I should've known leaving a severed hand on the table wouldn't be a good idea!"

"Hey, you!" yelled a guard towards James. "Weren't you the one eating here?" The crowd turned to look at James curiously. "Come with me." The civilians looked at James in puzzlement as the guard grabbed James' arm and dragged him to the castle. Several onlookers tried to follow them, but were stopped by the other guards on their way.

As they walked, James couldn't help but wonder what he should've done, and what would happen now. As he went to Ussieus' room, he heard talking coming from the room above. At first he heard Urantan say something, and Ussieus yelling a response. Ussieus' reply was met by several voices James didn't recognize speaking franticly, although they sounded old. The guard pushed James up the ladder and waited on the ground.

"Ahh, this should solve a few problems," said Urantan, looking at the young boy who had just poked his head up through the floor.

"What's going on here?" asked James, confused. Five chairs were placed in a semi-circle around the room, and in each sat four very old looking men. They wore deep purple robes embroidered with gold, and each had a small golden medal on their chest. The fourth seat seemed to belong to Ussieus, who was standing, looking outraged.

"Allow to me to explain. James, this is the Council of Elders here at Falador, maybe you've heard of the Varrock Elders? Roald saw it fit to anoint a council here as well, and Ussieus became one as default, already being the leader here. Now, we are here for a few reasons, but the simplest being, well, they want to kill you. Naturally we are not going to let them, or, at least until your contract with Ussieus is up, isn't that right Ussieus?"

"What are you talking about?" yelled James, before Ussieus could say anything. "What am I to you? A disposable soldier who does his tasks and is sent off to death? I need an explanation, now!"

"Well basically," began the elder farthest to the left, who seemed to be the oldest, and the one in charge.

"Shut your mouth, old fool!" interjected Ussieus. The elders gasped, the one who was just speaking looked astonished. "James, there are quite a few problems. I'll try to explain as best as I can. Basically, when word reached us that you had committed treason; you were branded a criminal, and were to be sentenced to death. Somehow, your friends were able to convince Varrock that should you come back on your own accord you should be spared, since at that point, they still had faith in you. Roald agreed, and then a month and a half or so went by before your return. During this time, the elder council was established, and with it, the power to create all laws and sentences within this city.

"This is bad, for you, because these men were always against giving you a second chance, why I do not know. All I know is that you are now scheduled for execution in two days time. I've been arguing your case because, frankly, I like you, and don't want you to die, but it doesn't seem like there's much I can do."

James stood silently, not quite sure how to react. After a while, he began collecting his thoughts. "Isn't there anything that can be done?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing," said Urantan, looking at the ground, sounding almost genuinely sad. "Still, this gives us time to complete our mission. We should prepare." As Urantan said this, he walked up to the ladder and climbed down, not saying another word.

"If you'll excuse me," said Ussieus, addressing the elders, "I'd like to speak to James in private. Come!" James obliged, and they climbed down the ladder. As they got to the bottom, the guard that had escorted James there climbed up. Just before Ussieus led him in the next room, James heard him describing the events at the inn.

"Listen!" began Ussieus in a frantic whisper, holding James up against the wall, which took James by surprise. "I need you to run. I don't care if you finish the mission or not, but whatever you do, do not come back to this city. There are other ways I can keep in touch with you; you are no value to me, or your comrades, dead. You will have failed yourself, and I don't think there's anything for you here. These elders are crazy, political, power hungry fools! You have no idea how good they'll look for finding the traitor James Farmer! That's why they're so casual about this; your death is like a prize to them!" James tried to take all the information in.

"I don't care what happens to anyone else, you need to survive. For multiple reasons. One, you have become a powerful fighter and ally. Two, not only do you have connections with the druids; you know things about the enemy we don't. And three, most importantly, you don't deserve to die, not after the hell you went through! Now go, do what you must, and survive. Urantan and the others are waiting at the South Gate. Travel well, James Farmer, and may Guthix guide thee on thy journey!" Ussieus then pushed James towards the door out, and ran back up the ladder.

"Right!" Said James to himself. As he was heading towards the groups, he heard shouts and a heated argument coming from the high tower. "Be careful Ussieus. If they are as cruel as you say they are, who knows what they'll do to you!"

James found the group waiting casually at the South Gate. Mark jumped up and waved as James strode over to them.

"So, what happened?" Asked Merk curiously.

"Let's go, now!" commanded James, who didn't stop, but instead strode out of the city. The group followed, and looked at Urantan for an answer. "I'll tell you later!" Snapped James. Satisfied, they followed him, and they began their journey, stopping only when they reached the Port. They rented a room at the inn and wasted no time asking James about what happened. He told the story quickly, and then asked their opinion on the whole thing. He left out what Ussieus had said to him though.

"They can't do that!" Yelled Mark. Merk nodded in agreement. Haddlin sat down and began rubbing his temples, trying to think of some sort of plan.

"I hate to sound like I don't care, believe me I do, but I think we should more focus on the task at hand," began Urantan. "At the pace we're going at, we'll reach the tower by tomorrow. That reminds me, we shouldn't. I don't know about you three, but I'm an old man. I can't move this fast every day. James, I know you're going through a lot, but you have to relax. Now, I suggest everyone get a bit of sleep, I am regardless of what you choose." After Urantan retreated for the night, the rest did as well, until it was only James in the dark tavern, sipping the last of his ale.

"James, it's time to leave! James!" James opened his eyes groggily to see Haddlin pushing him awake. He had fallen asleep on the table.

"Where's everyone else?" He yawned, rubbing his eyes and standing up slowly.

"Waiting outside, come on."

James nodded and slowly got up. Just before he left, the bartender stopped him. "I got something for ya'!" He said, withdrawing a small leather pouch. "The man who gave it to me said you'd understand, I haven't even looked at it." James thanked him and walked outside, undoing the knot as he went. The group looked at him curiously. When he opened it up, he found yet another severed hand, as well as a small note. Disgusted, he dropped the hand, but looked closely at the note.

_Dear James,_

_Sorry about the messy job before, be a little cleaner next time though._

_Still your friends,_

_The Rouges_

"Wh-what is that?" Asked Merk, poking the hand on the ground.

"Nothing!" replied James, who picked up the hand and threw it into the sea. "Come on, we can probably climb over this wall and reach the Wizard's Tower within a few hours time!"

"James! What did I tell you?" yelled Urantan. At this point, James was already finding a handhold and pushing himself up. Haddlin sighed and followed suit, as did the rest of the group.

"You're going to get us all killed," said Haddlin, annoyed.

"Very funny. You won't die, I promise. Now come on, I want to go there now. There's too much going on right now. I need a second to think, and I can't while this is going on. I just want to get it over with."

"I can understand that, but maybe we should rush in," said Urantan, who was having a bit of trouble getting over the wall. James and Haddlin were already on the other side.

"If you don't want to go, be my guest. I am." James then began walking into the direction of the Wizard's Tower, being careful to avoid Draynor Village. He reached the bridge and waited for the others. As the gentle waves hit the stone columns supporting it, he felt himself slip away. He wished only to be out at sea, not worrying about war or trouble. He was immediately brought back to reality as the rest of the group caught up.

"Well then, let's go," said Urantan. They began walking across the bridge, and realized that it was eerily quiet. No one said anything until they reached the tower. Finally, Urantan noticed something. "They aren't here."

"How do you know?" Asked James.

"See that dock over there," said Urantan pointing to the other side of the building. "Look closely, there's something odd about it. What is it?"

"There's no boat!" yelled Mark excited. Haddlin sighed and resisted the urge to hit him.

"Precisely!" responded Urantan. "We should probably leave. Come." They all turned around, and as they walked back towards the bridge, heard a loud rumble.

"What was that?" asked James, looking around.

"Well, this rather complicates things," said Urantan. As if in answer, a giant demon crashed through the ceiling, letting out a terrible cry. "Of course, the wizard's lesser demon!"

"L-l-lesser?" asked Mark, staring at it, eyes gaping.

"I assume they implored some sort of growth spell. Never did figure that one out. At any rate, it should stop eventually. We should probably take it out before that!"

"Right!" said Mark, who watched as it jumped down onto the ground. It was now roughly half the size of the tower. Fearless, Mark ran towards it, sword drawn, yelling a fearsome battle cry. The demon bent down and looked at Mark as he charged. Uninterested, the beast swung its arm, swatting Mark away like a fly. He landed in the shallow water and sat there, stunned.

"Is he alive?" asked James.

"He'll be fine!" yelled Merk, rolling the boy on his side so he wouldn't drown. Mark then drew his sword, and began circling the demon. Merk snuck around it and ran into the building. As he climbed upward, he asked Urantan for a distraction.

Urantan wasted no time withdrawing some runes. After a quick incantation, he sent several gusts of wind towards the monster. The demon came off the minor scrapes and bruises, but it was all Merk needed. He had come out on the top floor and looked down at the demon.

"I only got one shot at this!" Merk readied his sword and jumped, straight for the demons head. He was off the tiniest bit, and instead hit he demon in the back, its rough skin deflecting most of the blow. Merk stuck onto the demon as it danced around, trying to knock him off. Eventually, the demon fell forwards right in front of the tower. As Mark jumped off, Urantan sent three large boulders towards the tower, knocking it on top of the beast.

"Is it dead?" asked James, taking a step forward. The rubble didn't move. James took a step closer, glancing cautiously at the debris, then back at Haddlin and Urantan, who was going to see if Mark were still breathing. Merk crouched low and tried to catch his breath, but gave James a thumbs up sign. James let out a sigh of relief, and walked all the way up to the pile of rocks. He didn't notice the tiniest rock roll to the ground. Without warning, the beast crashed through the rocks, now almost just as large as the former tower. It brought up its arm and brought it down on James, who sidestepped the blow, but was still hit in the leg.

Merk once again charged at the beast, but got swatted away like his brother, and was sent back to the bridge. He tried to find the energy to get up, but instead just laid there, hoping the others would take care of it.

Urantan took out several more runes. He began chanting quickly under his breath. Before he could release his spell, the demon created two large fireballs from his hands, which it sent at the wizard. Urantan was able to sidestep the first one but was hit full force by the second one, which he was just barely protected from by the water spell he had just cast.

Meanwhile, James was trying to stand up. The demon eyed him closely, and after stomping and flailing around madly, picked him up. James screamed in terror as he was swung in the air with no way to stop it.

Haddlin looked around. He was the only one left. Mark and Merk were practically in a coma, Urantan was suffering from burns, and James was being held by the demon. "Only one option," he told himself. He took out his crossbow, and repeated the phrase to himself over and over again. The demon took a step forward as Haddlin held the weapon tightly.

"Only one option," Haddlin repeated. The demon threw James gently, who landed in the shallow waters next to Mark. James had just enough energy to turn himself over and watch Haddlin.

"Only one option," repeated Haddlin, withdrawing a crossbow bolt from his boot. The tip was encrusted with a deep red gem. The demon took another step forward, not quite sure how to react.

"Haddlin, you fool!" yelled Urantan, just barely sitting up. Haddlin ignored him.

"Only one option," whispered Haddlin, one last time. As he did so, he raised the bolt high in the air. Quickly, without James even realizing what was happening, Haddlin stabbed himself in the chest. The demon stepped back, surprised, as Haddlin pushed it in deeper, so that it almost completely penetrated through his body.

He then slowly drew it out. As he withdrew it completely, James noticed the tip of the arrow sparkled brightly. Haddlin winced and fell to his knees. Using all of his energy, Haddlin got the bolt into the crossbow, and weakly aimed it at the demon. After a quick second, the arrow fired.

It hit the demon square between the eyes. At first James thought it would be enough, but then realized the weapon wasn't near powerful enough. The bolt hardly penetrated the skin. It just stuck there on the demons head.

Then, with a flash of blinding light, the arrow pushed threw, very slowly, until it came out the other side of the demon's head, and fell to the ground. The demon let out one last cry as it happened, and fell back into the rubble.

Haddlin smiled, and dropped to the ground.


	7. Chapter 7: The Late King of Ardougne

_Kind of short, but it's all important._

**Chapter 7: The Late King of Ardougne**

"This war is a losing battle for your side." said the king rather casually, laying down on his thrown, his legs over the side. He took a rather large bite from his now finished apple, and let it drop from his hand, to roll on the floor until a servant hastily picked it up and ran out to the grounds with it to throw it in the increasingly large compost pile. Another servant handed him a large pear, and the king continued to eat. "I see no reason to join you. Look what happened to Burthorpe, they signed their death warrant.

"Burthorpe is a foolish nation whose traditions lie within barbaric ceremonies and countless battles. They are no better than the Fremnik scum of the north who you hate so much. We understand that your nation is different. Not only are you skilled in battle, you have countless strategists and tacticians who can ensure our victory. Your forces are large, your city is large enough to be separated in two, and still be more formidable than a city like Varrock. Plus, we feel that we can lure the enemies driving force, its own group of heroes, here, to their deaths. Without them, their morale will plummet, and their cities, no, regions, will be yours for the taking. Misthalin and Asgarnia will belong to you. All you have to do is help us.

"Hmm, I don't know," replied the king, pear juice dribbling down his chin. "It does seem rather risky."

"But think of the benefits. Maybe this will help change your mind," said the man, producing a rather large bag of coins. He shook the bag lightly, producing a soft jingle, to which the king looked up and tossed his fruit to the floor, quickly wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Perhaps we could arrange something then?" said the king, eyes staring at the money bag. He gave two loud claps and in response, a tall man wearing a very expensive looking red silk shirt, and matching pants to complete the outfit, came running from the corner and bowed deeply. He was balding, but still had a thin layer of white hair clinging to his head. The king didn't even glance at him, but instead ordered, "Go speak to this nice man here, and make some arrangements. Make sure it's all in my favor, of course!"

"Of course sir!" replied the man as he straightened himself out. "Come along," he said to the man, quickly making his way to the door at the far end of the chamber. The visitor followed, putting the large sack back into his robes. The king's assistant waited for him at the door, looking rather impatient.

"Whoops!" said the man, rather casually, as he dropped a few runestones on the ground. "Let me just pick these up quick." As he bent over to get the stones, he began muttering something incomprehensible. His voice grew steadily louder, and as he picked up the runes he was nearly shouting. He ended by turning to the assistant and holding the runes tightly in his hands. The man went stiff, his entire body growing pale. The man fell backwards and hit the ground with a thud.

"What have you done with him?" demanded the king, straightening himself so he was sitting on the chair upright. The visitor, who was obviously a wizard, approached the king, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"Oh, he's just unconscious. He'll be fine. This is rather disappointing though, you'd think you'd have some actual guards in the chamber room."

"They were handling some thief, a rat, who broke into this very room." The king tried to come off as confident, but could barely keep his voice louder than a whisper.

"Oh yes, that's right, now I remember sending him in here. Still, you'd think you would've been wiser than to send all of your guards after him. Just more of a reason that you need to be dethroned, you aren't fit to run this place."

"W-w-well they'll be back any second!" retorted the king, resisting every urge to curl up in a ball and hope the man would just go away.

"I really wouldn't be too worried about that," said the man, pulling out several runes. He did a quick incantation and sent two large boulders towards the door. They knocked over the surrounded pillars, effectively barring the entrance, and narrowly missing the assistant by inches.

The king reached for the sword attached to his waist and withdrew it shakily, barely having the strength to hold it upright.

"You are a pathetic excuse for a king. I don't know how the people have endured you for so long, unless you somehow scared your guards into serving you. That must be it; you've created a sense of fear in your people. Don't worry; soon, they'll have a strong ruler, one who they can count on to stand up to enemies, and one who they can truly fear." The wizard withdrew more runes and began muttering gibberish. He finished speaking with a shout, thrusting the runes forward. The king dropped his sword to the ground and covered his head with his hands, expecting the worst. "You even cower in the face of an obviously fake spell, instead of standing up to it. Don't worry; the next one's the real thing!"

"Does anyone know some spells to get through here!" shouted the captain of the Ardougne guard, who once again tried to ram the door to the king's chamber open. He rubbed his shoulder and looked at the faces of the other guards, who seemed to have no idea what was going on. Finally, a man wearing deep blue robes that the captain had never met before pushed his way to the front of the crowd. The captain was about to stop him, but figured that if this stranger could help, he would let him. He withdrew three or four air runes, along with the same amount of death runes. After a quick incantation, a large ferocious gust of wind slammed into the door. The large door refused to budge even an inch.

"Anything else you can do?" asked the captain.

"One thing, but its likely going to take all of my energy," warned the wizard. He withdrew six air runes, arranging them in a triangle on the ground. Within the triangle he made another triangle of six runes whose design resembled a drop of blood. After that, he withdrew a stick of chalk, creating a circle around the triangle, although leaving a rune sized circle in the four 'corners,' where he placed four more air runes. Then, after withdrawing a book for quick reference, he wrote a strange message in a circle around the triangle, although within the original circle. After this he stood back, admiring his handiwork.

"I'd advise you hold on to something," said the wizard, motioning to the small rings on the wall keeping the torches in place. The guards quickly grabbed hold of them, bracing themselves for what ever was to come. "Right, well then, if everyone's ready!" At that the man returned to the book he had referenced early, and began saying the same incantation he had written in the circle. As he spoke, a large gust of wind burst seemingly from the window at the end of the corridor, nearly pushing the men off their feet. The wizard finished speaking, smiling politely. The wind picked up, yet somehow he stayed happily on his feet, while the guards were using all of their strength to stop the wind from picking them up. A few guards a little further down the hall noticed the wind had stopped coming. Sure enough, the wind had been picking up in the center of the circle. Slowly it started to spin, creating a tiny, but powerful, tornado, right in the center of the blood triangle. The tornado reached the ceiling, where it burst, sending one last burst of wind all throughout the corridor.

"Hello there," said the wizard, who was now greeting the entity in the center of the circle. It was large, at least seven feet tall, and looked as if he was made out of wind, his 'skin' was bluish-whitish, and moving all over its body. It was relatively human shaped; it had obvious arms and legs, and a round head that looked like a semi-circle right off his body. In response to the wizard, it merely groaned. "Yes, you obviously aren't enjoying this; I know you don't like to be away. Oh, I wouldn't slacken your grip yet," he added, turning back to the guards, who looked slightly relieved that the gusts were over. "In fact, I'd hold on a bit tighter. Now," he said, once again directing his attention towards the being he had just summoned. "If you could kindly open the door, I'll let you go home."

In response, the being thrust his hands toward the large door, which was at least ten feet tall and six feet wide. For a moment it seemed like nothing happened, but slowly the men directly behind it felt the wind picking up again, although this time it felt as if it was coming through the wall. Slowly it picked up speed, and the men were thrown in the air, horizontal with the floor. They clung tightly to the rings, which were now loosening from the stone. The door was slowly moving open, even now the wizard, who was still standing happily behind the monster, could see inches into the room.

Then, as if in an explosion, the door shot open and was sent across the chamber. The pillars were thrown threw the air like mere paper, landing somewhere in the middle of the chamber. The monster turned to the wizard and smiled, and let another large tornado engulf him. When the tornado cleared, the only thing left on the ground was the chalk lines.

The wizard strode into the chamber, the Ardougne guard following him closely after. On the thrown sat a wizard, in the same position the wizard had found the king previously. The king's assistant stood at his side, nervously glaring at the guard. Most shocking of all though, was the king's dead body, which was slumped against the foot of the chair. The wizard could tell from where he was that his clothes were damp, although now visible cuts or gashes seemed to exist.

The wizard regarded them, beckoning them all over casually. As they approached, he took a generous bite out of a large pear, and threw it out the window.

"You had a rather long audience with the king for someone who was just going to kill him. I saw you walk in the same time I arrived, and eavesdropped to most of the conversation. I foolishly got caught up in helping the guards dispatch of the thief, and now I return to see the king dead." The wizard spoke confidently, but it was obvious to everyone he was nervous. Beads of sweat ran down his face as he spoke, and his breathing was heavy. He hadn't lied when he said the summoning would take most of his energy. If a fight were to break out, he would probably have to flee.

The man in the thrown shrugged, already bored with the conversation. "Well, for one, I had a feeling someone was listening outside, considering I saw you when I arrived as well. I had hoped that stalling would let me do this alone, and right I was, for when I approached the door to talk to the king's lovely assistant here, I could sense no presence. But honestly, you can't take me, not after that very impressive summoning. That really was a great bit of magic."

"Yes, I seem to get that a lot. I was hoping we were still on good terms though, Haikor, we were once such good friends." The wizard, though still tired, seemed to return to his usually casualness, and was currently playing with a strand of fire, directing it around his moving fingertips.

"Please, Urantan. After what you did to Traiborn, our glorious leader?"

"Well, he was simple really; he fell to that attack far too easy. Sure it took most of my energy, but it was just simple planning." Urantan was now entertaining himself by racing the snake of fire around the room, hardly glancing at Haikor. The guards watched the scene dumbfounded, not exactly sure how to react.

"So are you just going to have fun with that thing, or are you going to fight me?"

"No, I don't have much a desire to fight you. I have been trying to create a particular spell for awhile now though, if I could test it on you."

"What type of spell?" asked Haikor, who was now standing, and eyeing Urantan carefully.

"Well, you can learn that yourself hmm?" At this, Urantan retrieved eleven runes from his robes. Three law runes, four air runes, three water runes, and a mind rune.

"I fail to see what those runes could do. Well then, I'll show you what a powerful spell is." Haikor took out a blood rune, three fire runes, and three air runes.

"No matter," replied Urantan, who began his incantation. When he finished, both his runes and Haikor's runes glowed a light purple. The light became so bright that it was impossible to even see the runes in their hands. As the light ebbed away, Haikor noticed things were different. In his hands were three air runes, three water runes, and a mind rune, whereas Urantan was holding three fire runes, three air runes, and a blood rune. "And it worked magnificently!"

"You're too tired to use a spell of that magnitude!" yelled Haikor, hardly able to believe what just happened.

"Of course I am, but your current spell will hardly affect the guards. Now, if you men would like to finish him off, I'd greatly appreciate it!" The guard captain nodded and the guards charged at Haikor. Haikor however did an unusual thing. He put the runes away, and instead said another quick incantation under his breath. At the end, he clapped, yet it still seemed to have done nothing.

"Fellow wizards!" his voice boomed, far louder than he should've been able to. "Come to my aid. Finish off the guard here, destroy all hope. I must take my leave, but you can destroy them. Surround the castle, let none escape, especially the traitor, Urantan. This city is still ours!" When Haikor finished speaking, he pulled out two earth runes and two law runes. Before Urantan or the guards could do anything, Haikor was gone, disappearing in a purple orb.

"What do you think he meant by that?" asked the captain curiously.

"I think I figured it out!" said one of the guards, pointing out the window. He pointed to the docks, where they could see numerous wizards walking on land. As the last wizard left the boat, the guard counted at least twenty-five of them, maybe more.

"What should we do, we can't take them on!"

"What about the soldiers, there must be a good sized army, this is the largest city I've ever seen!" yelled Urantan.

"The barracks are all on the West end of the city!"

"Then run, now! Before the wizards get here. You can defend this city!"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get help. Selian," he began, talking to the captain, "Don't let them take this city, do whatever you can!" Selian nodded, and watched as Urantan disappeared.

"Well then, let's go!" The men nodded, all drawing their swords. The captain led them out of the chamber and down the corridor to the stairs to the third floor. They ran down the stairs quickly, maneuvering around the tables and chairs in the dining hall, and raced down the stairs to the second level. Selian was about to direct his men down the last staircase when he heard another booming voice coming from outside. He approached the large window that overlooked the castle courtyard to see the wizards assembled there.

"There is no way out, there is only on exit, and we have it blocked!"

"What do we do?" asked a guard, afraid for his life.

"We charge out, and run through, making a run for the barracks," replied one of the guards, looking at Selian, obviously thinking his idea was the clearest option.

"No, we find another way out, or make one, and get everyone to the barracks alive." He looked around. They were currently in the study, bookcases lined the wall, and cozy armchairs sat around the fire. After quickly scanning the room, hoping for another option, his eyes rested on another window, this one overlooking the back of the castle. Another guards seemed to notice what he was looking at, for he shouted:

"You can't be serious?"

"There's no other way. Besides, it's a garden out there; chances are there are some bushes to break our fall." He ran towards the window, and sure enough there where large hedges underneath to break their fall. His raised his hand and pressed it against the glass, testing its strength. He pushed, and the glass easily gave way. He rammed it again with his shoulder, making a large hole, large enough to jump through, in the window. A brave guard approached him, looked at him reassuringly, and jumped out. The rest followed, and Selian himself jumped out after the last.

They had all assembled in the garden, weapons once again at the ready. One of the wizards seemed to have heard him, for they could hear several footsteps approaching from the east side. The soldiers all stood tall, their swords held high. They quickly formed into a line and became like a human wall.

"Listen to me!" began Selian in a frantic whisper, "You all have to run. Run to the barracks and tell them what's happening. We are but seven guards, counting myself. We cannot defend against some twenty-five trained wizards ourselves. I'm not going to let any of you die on me. If we all die, no one will warn the soldiers. You have to move quickly!"

The soldiers stood still, refusing to move. The footsteps grew slowly louder, until finally, the silence was broken with, "Sir, watch out!" Selian turned around to see three wizards, and a fireball hurtling towards him. He was hit square in the chest, sliding on the ground to his men's feet.

"Go, please! I'm not important, but this city and these people don't deserve this! Sure our old king was a coward, but at least the people could live happily. Not under their rule. So go! Forget about me!" It was a feeble attempt, and Selian new it wouldn't do much good. The guards just helped him up and put him behind the wall.

"Sir, you go and warn them, your life is far more important than ours. Please, run!" Without giving him time to react, the guard turned Selian around and pushed him. Selian ran westward, and only took a brief look back at his men, who were charging into battle. He watched as two were taken down, and forced himself to avert his gaze. A stray fireball went past his shoulder, yet still he continued on. The citizens by the castle had all heard the wizards, so Selian, for a moment, was the only one in the streets.

"Ring the bell, ring the bell!" he shouted, finally reaching the barracks. The soldier at the top of the bell tower looked at him curiously. "Just do it!" The soldier obliged, and the sound echoed throughout the city. Villagers dropped what they were doing and ran home, locking the doors behind them.

A soldier ran out from the barracks to greet him. "What's going on?"

"The king's dead, and the city is under attack. My legion of guards are all fighting them, though probably dead by now. We need all the soldiers we can to defend this city. These wizards are truly powerful and must be stopped!"

"R-r-right! Let's go!" The rest of the soldiers, some two hundred fifty, had assembled in the streets.

"This should be enough," said Selian, confident that the city was theirs. He ordered the soldiers to run back top the castle, with him in the lead. The mass of people moved as fast as it could, but all the while Selian was wishing he could move faster. He often had to stop and let to the soldiers catch up for he had run to far ahead. As he saw the castle in the distance, he saw several people who definitely weren't wizards. With a sudden surge of hope, he ran even fast towards the castle, not caring about the soldiers.

"Stop!" said one of the mysterious men, holding out his hand. Selian stopped in his tracks. The voice was none he recognized, and the man's hands seemed to be made of metal. "We, the people of Burthorpe, claim this city, along with the wizards of the Draynor Wizard Tower. You would be insane to try and stop us! We out number your forces greatly!"

"Hardly, I only see thirty five or so men in front of me, mostly wizards, and a handful of you!"

"That is because our full force is waiting just outside the main gate. If you attack, I shall give my men the signal, and this city shall come to ruin."

"It'll come to ruin if you rule it anyway!" yelled a soldier in the frontline, who charged towards the man. Selian reached out to grab him, trying to stop him from making such a foolish mistake, but his hand missed him by inches. The soldier charged forward and raised his sword to attack. His sword was caught in between one of the metal claws on the Burthorpe soldier's left hand. The man spun his hand around, effectively disarming the Ardougne soldier. With his right hand, he stabbed the soldier in the neck.

"Right then, if you insist!" The Burthorpian soldier raised a large horn to his lips and blew, signaling the attack.


	8. Chapter 8: The Ancestor Druid

_Yeah, it took me long enough, but it's here, so enjoy it._

**Chapter 8: The Ancestor Druid**

Urantan appeared within the pub in a flutter of blue robes, panting heavily. Without looking around, he took a few steps forward and collapsed into the first chair he found. After a few deep breaths, he opened his eyes, to find the pub was empty.

"Urantan! Where were you?" Urantan moved his head slightly, acknowledging the young boy, who quickly sat in the chair across from him. "Well? I want answers!"

"In a moment!" snapped Urantan, who was withdrawing a small glass and runes form his cloak. James noticed Urantan's mind had begun to wander, probably thinking of some new spell, since he had sat there for a long moment, staring into space. "No, it couldn't be done," said Urantan plainly, setting the glass on the table and conjuring a bit of water into it, which he hastily gulped down, and refilled. After this went on a few times, James couldn't wait anymore.

"What couldn't be done?" he asked excitedly.

"I was merely wondering if I'd be able to create brandy from magic, but soon realized that I do not have an alcohol rune, although it would be an interesting experiment."

James stared at him for a moment, not quite sure how to react. Finally resisting the urge to laugh, he merely stared at Urantan, hoping for actual answers.

"There are, of course, much more pressing matters. After we had slain the demon, I wasted no time going to Ardougne."

"Why?"

"Well, where else would the wizards go? The seers had never been one for the wizards, who never seemed to have taken them seriously, and there was little for them in Catherby. Logically, that left Ardougne, a city so big there was originally talk of splitting it in two, and having to separate cities. The wizards are really all that is left of Falador, although Burthorpe bears them allegiance. The ranks of white knights in the Burthorpe army, small to begin with, have nearly been wiped out. By the time I am telling you this, I am hopeful that they have been nearly obliterated."

"Why! What's going on?"

"Well, the wizards reached Ardougne and assassinated the king. I helped kill the king's murderer, but it took nearly all of my strength, and I quickly teleported here, where I am hardly in any position to teleport back of my own power. Meanwhile, the rest of the wizards attacked the city, and I am almost sure that the Burthorpe army has gone as well."

"They have," said James grimly, thinking of all the innocent people that would die today.

"How do you know?"

"A few druids told us about it. Well, not exactly that, but they told us that nearly all of the Burthorpians were passing over the Whitewolf mountains."

"But if they just told you they can't possibly be anywhere near Ardougne!" said Urantan with glee, thinking they had a few more precious days.

"They told us that they had left about a week ago, maybe more."

"Then why are they here now?" asked Urantan, puzzled.

"My trial," said James plainly. "I wasn't able to avoid coming back."

"Where are the others?"

"Haddlin's funeral." At this, James looked down at his feet, hoping Urantan wouldn't question him about it. He gazed upward, and Urantan looked at him understandingly.

"Bartender," shouted Urantan, looking towards him, "two glasses of ale please." The bartender hastily walked over to them, carefully placing the drinks in front of them. "To Haddlin," said Urantan softly, raising his glass. James did the same, and they drank to their lost friend. Neither said anything for a few moments, although every once in awhile James would look out the window, towards the funeral procession. Finally, Urantan broke the silence. "We can't stay here."

"Why?"

"Ardougne is still under siege, and we can't let that happen. The longer we wait, the worse condition we find it in. Come, we have to get the others."

James nodded, and stood up reluctantly. The two made they're way out of the bar, and towards the village square on the east side of town.

"So, how exactly will we get there, you said yourself you're too weak. Which means I also have to ask, how much help can we be?"

"Which is why I'm glad I found you first, we need the druids' help."

"Urantan, I spent a long time living with the druids. Technically, I am one. So believe me when I tell you that they will not help. They believe in balance."

"But there is far too much corruption in the world; they need to help stop it. Surely they would understand this."

"If there is too much corruption, they believe Guthix will handle it. The fact that Guthix has not intervened, nor told them to, means they will not act."

Urantan let out a long sigh. He had a feeling this would happen, but he thought it would be worth trying anyway. "Is there any other way to convince them to help?"

"None that we could take advantage of immediately."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, there may be a way to convince them, but we could never do so in time to help Ardougne."

The truth of the matter hit Urantan. Nothing could be done for the people of Ardougne. Nothing. They were doomed.

"I'm sorry," said James, surprised at how emotionally attached Urantan was to this city. He knew Urantan really was a great person, but he should've known that the druids would never agree, it seemed that Urantan was getting desperate, which was clouding his judgment. Before James could say anything more to him, Urantan began to weep. At last he turned to James.

"Tell me, what could be done to persuade the druids?"

"Urantan, have you ever heard of the ancestor druids?"

James was interrupted by a sweet melody. He hadn't even realized how close they had come to the funeral procession. The song was being played on a large harp, accompanied by a man playing the lute. Haddlins coffin lay on a small platform, resting on top of a pile of sticks and branches. As the song was finished four mages, who stood at the corners of the pile, sent a fire spell towards the coffin, immediately setting the funeral pyre ablaze. It burnt for a long while, until finally the fire died down, and there was nothing left.

The mages continued the ceremony, withdrawing large amounts of runes. They used earth runes to make a large stone basin, landing it on top of the platform, completely smothering the fire. Next, a large stone block was placed in the center of the basin, which was slowly chiseled away by unseen hands. When it was done, there stood a statue of Haddlin, pointing an arrow straight at the sky. One of the mages withdraw a few water runes from inside his robes and made four jets of water shoot from the tip of the arrow, filling the stone basin. After a few minutes the area cleared, leaving only five people. Three of them stood around the statue, their heads bowed low. James stood next to them, he too paying his respects. Urantan stood back, deciding to wait for them to be done.

"James," at the word the eldest of the men looked up, but the speaker ignored him. "I know you think this is somehow your fault, but it's not. There was nothing you could have done."

James merely nodded and continued staring at the ground.

"You didn't tell me James was here, or that he was alive!" The man stared at James, hoping for a response.

"Yes, I lived, and I've atoned for my sins. I now serve Varrock one again, and I led the attack on the wizards tower. I'd like to apologize to you, for betraying you."

Danik looked to Mark and Merk, who nodded. "I… accept your apology, only because these two seem to vouch for your loyalty. Had we met alone, I can't say I would think the same."

"Well, this is great. I do hate to interrupt, but we have more pressing matters!"

"Who's this?" asked Danik, staring at Urantan as if he wasn't human.

"That's Urantan, he's helped me and Varrock out a lot, you can trust him, and I think you should listen to him," replied James, who motioned for Urantan to continue.

"Right, well, Ardougne is under attack. I'm guessing it's about to fall as we speak."

"To who?" questioned Mark.

"The wizards who escaped of course. There's no way we could get back in time, and if we could, we wouldn't be of much help, but James seemed to have an idea. James, if you will."

"Well, I was about to tell you about the Ancestor Druids. Like I told you, the druids are only allowed to intervene on something like this if Guthix says so himself, but they are also commanded to listen to the request of an ancestor druid."

"But that was back in the days when the ancestor druids were still alive. Now it is merely something to go along with the stories of the third age," retorted Urantan, clearly thinking James was crazy.

"They say there is one ancestor druid left. It may be only a rumor, but you have to admit, it's the best chance we have."

"Why can't we just ask someone else for help?" asked Danik.

"Well, one, it'll be hard to get anyone else to listen to us, the current world leaders hardly care about the fate of Ardougne, as long as it doesn't affect them. The fighters we recruit will have to be either amazingly powerful, or we'll need thousands of them. I doubt we can get the latter, so we must go for amazingly powerful. Even if there are enough people we could find to help us, they'd be scattered. Yet, all the combined power of the druids would easily be enough. They are said to posses knowledge of spells that can destroy cities. If we can find a way to get the druids on our side, it shall be worthwhile. On top of that, although we can't get there before Ardougne is lost, I'd like to take it back before it's been corrupted for too long."

"Just one problem, didn't you say it's only a rumor that one of these Ancestor Druids is still alive?"

"Well, we shall check. James, where does the Ancestor Guardian live?"

"Lumbridge," responded James, although he obviously wasn't telling them everything he knew. "Just let me prepare some supplies, then we can all leave tomorrow. Until then, do whatever you wish." And without another word James walked off, disappearing into the distant crowd of the marketplace.

"Now what?" asked Merk.

"Well, I'm tired, I'm going to bed," said Urantan, who walked off and retreated into the inn.

"So, you guys actually trust James," asked Danik, still in disbelief.

"I trust him with my life," replied Mark. Merk nodded in agreement. Danik merely sighed in response.

"I don't know, after what happened to Haddlin…"

"Don't you start too!" yelled Merk. "James feels bad enough about it, and it wasn't even his fault. Don't go making it worse!"

"Relax, I wasn't going to say anything to his face, I'm just not sure what to think of him."

"Well, you're going to have to, since you're coming with us," replied Mark, who walked away, Merk followed behind him.

"I'm getting to old for this," said Danik under his breath.

The next morning they all met at Falador's south gate. Urantan looked much cheerier than the day before, although still looking tired and weak. Mark, Merk, and Danik were still thinking of yesterday, looking almost on the verge of tears. They were snapped back into reality when they saw James approaching with three large bags.

"Take them," he said, tossing one to Danik and one to Mark. Mark and Danik peered into theirs, finding a coil of rope, food, a lantern, two canteens full of water, and a small dagger made of steel. They assumed James' contained the same.

"What's all this for?" asked Mark, testing it's weight.

"The journey of course. Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah," said Danik, already having slung his over his back. Mark did the same, and the group head out.

They were silent for most of the journey, but James didn't complain. He needed some time to think. They walked for a long time, stopping to rest for Urantan every once in awhile. As they passed Port Sarim later near the evening, James felt the cool sea breeze, thinking back to the last time he felt the wind on his face here.

"So long ago," he said to himself, stopping to admire the port, or what he could see of it. The others stopped as well, also admiring the port, thinking back. James almost felt Sakir's presence within the group. He could almost see him, standing next to him. He looked to his left, at Danik. He felt like if he listened closely, he would hear Haddlin discussing something with him.

"We… we should go," said Danik softly, his eyes beginning to water. They nodded, and continued to walk, memories fresh in their mind.

They finally stopped for the night where the road went three separate directions. Draynor was to the south, Lumbridge straight ahead, and some creepy forest to the north. They decided to head a bit to the north, stopping before the forest, to set up camp.

"So James, can you give us some kind of idea on where we're going?" asked Danik, who was lighting up his pipe.

"They say the ancestor druid lives in the catacombs beneath Lumbridge. There's two known entrances, under the castle kitchens and in the swamps."

"So basically," said Mark, "There's no way we're getting in. They're not going to let you in the swamps, where all the people of Draynor are currently staying. And they're definitely not going to let you in the castle. They have really high security going on right now."

"Would they even remember what I look like?" asked James, who very much doubted it.

"Well, you'd be recognized, trust me." replied Danik.

"The security is that tight huh?

"I don't know if it would be security that would recognize you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, James, when you left, you left your father alone. He is getting old, and having trouble doing work." James closed his eyes and sighed. He had completely forgotten what his father would do without him. Danik decided to wait a minute before continuing. "They let him stay at the refugee camp, they said he once served in the army and was now entitled to some privileges." Urantan looked up and smiled. He let out a quick chuckle and returned to the book he was reading.

James sighed, a mix of relief and nervousness, ignoring Urantan completely. He turned around and rummaged through his pack, pulling out a small mask that matched the rest of his outfit.

"Yeah, you want look suspicious wearing that," said Mark. James tightened his grip and dropped it back in his bag.

"So, are you proposing we sneak into the castle," asked James, clearly thinking the idea was insane.

"Not at all. We'll just have to be extra careful. I'm thinking we just go in at night and try to explain to the guards what's going on." answered Danik.

"Whatever you say. Personally, I'm tired, and I just want some sleep. We can figure it out tomorrow." said James. No one else replied, so James laid down on the ground, wishing he had remembered to bring a blanket.

James woke up to see everyone else was already to go. He yawned and stood up, sore from sleeping on the ground. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his back quickly, wanting to leave. When everyone else was ready, they returned to the path and head southeast, hoping to dodge Draynor completely.

They were silent during most of the journey, giving James time to enjoy the scenery. He watched the squirrels and rabbit run around looking for food. Bugs flew by, and in the distance he saw a few giant spiders. Trees were placed sparsely around the landscape. It seemed so peaceful, separated from the world. He wouldn't have minded living here.

When they realized they were close they stopped, wanting to wait until nightfall. James walked over to the log that looked good enough to sit on, and practically fell onto it. The rest of them either found a tree stump or a nice patch of grass to sit on. No one wanted to talk much, which was fine with James. He wasn't really in the mood to talk. He just closed his eyes and dropped his head, hoping to have a chance to relax. He heard conversations going on, but decided to ignore it.

"James!" James looked up to see Urantan was looking at him, as was everyone else. "We've been calling your name for a good minute."

"Oh, sorry," said James. "What did you want?"

"I'm not quite sure I get it, what exactly are you asking this ancestor druid, if he exists."

"I'll ask if he can somehow convince the druids to fight with us, I'm sure he must have means of communication with the druids, the ancestor druids have direct ties with Guthix."

"Yeah, but how do we know they'll be persuaded?" asked Mark, Merk nodded in agreement.

"We have to trust James!" snapped Urantan, finally looking up from his book. "This is the only chance we have, so let's just have a little faith, think of how important this is. I trust James, do you?"

"Yes," said Mark adamantly.

"Me to," agreed Merk with just as much conviction.

"Danik, do you trust me?" asked James, staring at him.

Danik didn't answer right away. Instead he put his head in his hands and let out a sigh. Then he looked up, and after seeing James again, he stared back at the ground, needing more time to think. The silence went on for a long while, with Danik looking in different directions, trying to buy time. Finally, he put his head up and looked James in the eye.

"I trust you James. Now come on, in case you didn't notice, its dark out, or dark enough. We should go." He stood up and wasted no time walking south towards the camp. Everyone else stood up and followed.

They soon approached an area with a fence running along what seemed to be the entire swamps to the north, and a row of guards standing along the west. They approached the guards, Danik and front and James in the back, who was trying to keep his head low. They looked past the guards and noticed very few people were still out and about.

"General Danik Melaius of Varrock. I have business within the Lumbridge swamps."

"Do you have any identification?" asked the guard skeptically.

Danik withdrew his sword from its sheath, which was much different from his old one. There were markings all along the sword, which was made of a dark blue substance. Where the hilt and the blade met James could just make at Danik's name.

"Are all these people with you?"

"Yes, I'm sure you know Mark and Merk, and you've possibly heard of Urantan. And in the back is…"

"My name is Rikas," James cut in. The guard just nodded and motioned for them to pass.

As they walked ahead, James could hear two guards speaking behind him.

"I swear it's him!"

"And how would you know?"

"I lived in Lumbridge my whole life, and so did he! I recognize his voice, I'm telling you."

"A voice isn't enough to go by!"

James noticed they had stopped talking. He chanced a glance back to see that they were staring at him. The first guard seemed to look at him quizzically, but the other still seemed sure of his assumption.

"You, Rikas. Come over here." James froze. This wasn't good. The rest of the group had now stopped and looked at him curiously. Urantan seemed to have already figured out what was going on. A quick glance around showed that they were drawing attention. "I said get over here!" yelled the guard once more.

He had no idea what to do. By going over there, he was sure to be recognized, and if he didn't, there would obviously be problems. He turned to Danik for helped, but Danik just looked at him. James could tell there was nothing he could do.

"James, is that you?" asked the second guard, pretending that the first guard had never spoken. At the sound of his name, more and more people were gathering around. "It is you isn't it?" James said nothing.

The first guard withdrew his weapon, and motioned for the second guard to do the same. He complied reluctantly.

"Take off the mask!" ordered the first guard. A few more guards were now joining the commotion. James noticed they were coming from different directions. Soon, they would be surrounded. "I said, take off the mask."

James looked around once again. People were gathering faster, all eager to see James Farmer. More guards were approaching, weapons ready. As he scanned the crowd, he saw a familiar face, his father. He looked at him knowingly, his eyes filled with disappointment. It took all of James' willpower not to run to him.

"I… I…" he looked at Danik, who was shaking his head, as was Urantan. "Run!" he shouted, and broke off. He caught up to the group and charged forward, everyone else following in tow. The guards had already run after them, shouting orders and telling them to stop.

"Do we have any idea where this place is?" asked Merk, glancing back at the chasing guards. He stumbled forward and screamed, before regaining his balance. An arrow was stuck in his shoulder, gleaming in blood. No one answered him, they just kept running.

Finally, up ahead, James could make out the entrance of a large whole in the ground. The others saw it to, and they ran a bit faster. When they made it, James peered downwards quickly before taking out his rope. He tied it as quickly as could, making sure it was secure, before quickly climbing down, dropping the last few feet. He yelled for the others to do the same. They climbed down as carefully as possible, arrows flying over their heads.

They all reached the bottom and tried to look around, but couldn't see a thing. A faint light shone through the entrance, but James still couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him. Danik grabbed him and pushed him up against the wall, and the others did the same.

"What if they try to climb down the rope?" he whispered to Danik.

"Then we fight them." replied Danik calmly.

"You would actually fight them?" asked James, horrified at the idea of taking another's life because of a misunderstanding.

"They sure seem ready to fight us. Be quiet." James just nodded, which he realized Danik couldn't even see, and tried to see through the opening. Because of the angle, he could only see the guards' feet, but he could still hear their voices.

"Should we go down there?" asked the first guard. James noted a hint of fear in his voice.

"No, they'll die in their. We should probably report this to the council though, they'll be pleased. They won't have to go through the mess of the trial."

"But what if they live."

"Then it's not our problem, it's theirs. We're here to guard the people here, not to kill criminals."

"Besides," said the guard, who James recognized. It was the one who had said he had already known him. "He may have ended up going to the trial and being cleared. Then what if we had killed him?"

"Then we'd never know, or care. Come on, let's just leave." The other guards seemed to agree, and James noticed the feet disappearing. After a long moment, Merk broke the silence.

"Can anyone help me here?" he asked, grunting in pain. James quickly took out his lantern and lit it, looking at everyone's face. Merk looked pale, and he was losing a large amount of blood. Danik slowly pulled the arrow out, and ripped a bit of his own shirt off to tie around Merk's shoulder. Merk experimentally moved his arm a bit, and winced.

"It'll have to do. Let's go," he said determinedly. The others nodded, James took the lead.

Unfortunately James had no idea where he was going. He knew that the catacombs would be hard to navigate, but he hadn't figured on this. Especially it being this dark. Every once in awhile they would pass some monsters, some looking hostile, and others looking they didn't care. Either way, they chose to avoid anything they could see, which wasn't much.

They came across a narrow passage that they would have to walk through single file. James went first, walking through with caution. As he was about halfway down the corridor, a giant hand reached out of the wall and grabbed his head, lifting him in the air and shaking him vigorously. James screamed in pain, and Danik rushed over, drawing his sword.

Before Danik could do anything, James was grabbed and pulled into the wall through the small opening, dropping his lantern on the way in. He continued to thrash around until the hand let go of him, dropping him hard on the ground. At this point James had no idea where he was, he couldn't no longer see the opening. Worse, he knew that the hand was here somewhere, and with it the monster it belonged to.

He tried to stand up, but hit his ahead against the ceiling. Cursing quietly, and was forced to stoop his head and slouch. While walking, he tripped and fell to the ground. Looking back, he tried to see what he tripped on, but couldn't see anything. He sat there for a moment, trying to find it, but couldn't make anything out.

"James!" he heard Danik yell from the outside. For some reason, he couldn't quite place the direction it was coming from. Instead, he crawled back to what he had tripped on. He cautiously reached out his hand and touched it. It was long, and hard, and was oddly shaped. He picked it up and held it to his face, where he could just barely see it. He threw it the ground and backed up against a wall. It was a human bone.

He heard a hissing noise, and looked around, trying to place it. Without warning, he was picked up again at the stomach. The hand hit him against the walls and threw him, before he was picked up by a different hand. A horrible smell filled his nostrils as a shape seemed to appear in front of his face. It was large and the same color as the hands. He finally realized it was the face of the monster. It opened its mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. It was about to bite down before it let out a scream of agony. It dropped James on the ground and continued to scream. James also heard another noise, it sounted like a human. Finally, the noise died away, and he heard footsteps.

"Come on," said Danik, picking James up and carrying him out into the hallway. The group looked at him anxiously; waiting to see if he was okay. He smiled weakly, and Danik brought him into the next room. He sat James up against the wall, who tried to take deep breaths. The rest of the group let out a sigh of relief and sat down as well.

"I'm beginning to think this is a bad idea," said Mark. Danik grunted in agreement.

"Well that's odd," said Urantan. The others looked over at him. He was standing in front of what James assumed was water. In the center were large stones, just big enough for him to stand on. "It looks like these were placed here on purpose. And, that looks like a door on the other side. "This may be it!"

James stood up. Immediately he wished he hadn't. Merk ran to help him stand, but he pushed him away, using the wall for support. Panting heavily, he hobbled over to the pool of water. Then, testing his knees, he hopped over to the stone. He made it easily. He hopped to the second one, and then to the other side. Sighing in relief, the others followed after him.

They were surrounded by giant frogs, but thankfully these weren't hostile. When they were all together, they went through the door. On the other side, they were greeted by strange orbs of light floating around over a pit of nothing. The path veered to the left, appearing to stop.

They approached to find that they would have to climb down below them. They carefully slid the lanterns down, hoping they would stay lit. Fortunately, they were successful. They slowly and carefully climbed down, not wanting to slip. When everyone was together, they scooped up their lanterns and continued on.

"Who is there?" asked a strange voice. James ran forward, but immediately jumped back. In front of him was a giant serpent. It had coiled around itself, but if he had to guess he would say it was at least twenty five feet long. The others ran forward, but had much the same reaction as James.

James approached it first. "M-may I ask your name?"

"I am Juna, the Serpent. I am but a humble follower of Guthix."

"D-do you happen to be one of the ancestor druids?" asked James, becoming excited.

"Not many have figured out my identity, but not many have even found me, so I applaud you for that. Come closer." James obliged and stepped up, so that he was less than a foot away from Juna. "You wear our clothes. How did you get them?"

"I am a druid." replied James. "They fit my purpose far better than the robes."

"I always thought so as well. I grow tired, after living here for so long. Please, tell me a story."

"Umm, Juna, we require a favor." said Urantan, who decided to step forward.

"Tell me a story, and I will honor your request."

"We don't have any stories," declared Danik. "And we don't have time for this."

"Please, Danik, we shall honor her request. I will tell her my story, from the beginning." said James. Urantan chuckled, but James paid him no attention. The others sat down, Danik wished to listen as well. Mark, Merk, and Urantan listened closely as well, although they already heard the story many a time.

Juna looked very interested up to the very end, nodding intently, never interrupting. Finally James ended with: "And we need help from the druids to defeat Burthorpe, but the only way we can get their help is if Guthix, or an ancestor druid, mandates it."

"Your stories have amused me, my child. I will help you. You may leave, I will tell the druids of your wish. They will aid you." Urantan let out a great sigh of relief; James merely closed his eyes and smiled. "Oh yes, I almost forgot," said Juna. She slithered out to James' lantern and bit it. Venom from her fangs slowly seeped into the light, intensifying it greatly, almost too bright for them to look at. The entire room became illuminated. "This will not only guide your way, but it will protect you from the monsters in these caves. Go now, and visit poor Juna when you have more stories to tell."

"We will!" replied James, bowing low. He picked up the lantern and turned around, beginning the trek back. The others followed with new found spirits. They quickly scrambled up the wall and neared the door when they heard a noise.

"What was that?" asked Danik. It sounded like a human. No, multiple humans. Moments later, three old men in bright red robes rushed in the room.

"Chaos Druids," spat James, staring at the new arrivals.

"Chaos druids?" asked Danik, drawing his sword.

"They were once druids, but they now follow Zamorak. They have the power of a druid, and the kindness of a demon." Every once else withdrew their weapons. Finally, the center one spoke.

"And thanks to you, we have found the last Ancestor druid. He will do fine in the sacrifice!"

The druid then charged forward, wielding a dark blue sword much like Danik's. The left one withdrew some runes; the one on the right took out a bow. Danik wasted no time charging after the one with a sword. He sidestepped him and ran on, straight for James. Before Danik could run back after him he was hit by a giant ball of flame. He slowly picked himself up to see the wizard taking out more runes. Meanwhile, it was taking everyone else's efforts to hold back the others. Urantan and Mark were fighting the ranger together, just barely dodging his arrows. They zipped by their heads, making far too many close calls.

Merk and James were stuck fighting the sword wielder. He knew what he was doing as well. He charged forward, swinging expertly at the two boys. James just barely dodged the first swing, tearing the cloth on his arm. Merk used this time to charge the man, who side stepped and threw him towards the edge. Merk slipped off the cliff, just barely grabbing on with his left hand. The mage went to send a spell at him, but Danik rammed into him, knocking him off his balance.

As Merk slowly pulled himself up, Danik took care of the mage, and Mark and Urantan continued to dodge the arrows as best as they could, no one noticed James taking on the swordsman alone. The man charged at James, aiming for the knees. James twirled around and, finally having an opening, thrust his left claw into the man's back. He raised the other claw, but before he could finish it, the man twisted around, pulling the claw right off of James' hand. He ripped it out of his back and threw it on the ground.

"This is getting interesting!" he said, smiling. James grunted in response. The man charged at him, stabbing viciously at his chest. James barely dodged the attack; the edge of the sword grazing his side. James thrust his right claw out but missed the man completely, who had ducked.

He didn't notice the archer, who was aiming at James the whole time. An arrow hit James in the side, making him twirl around too face the archer.

"We'll take care of him, concentrate on your opponent!" yelled Urantan. James spun around just in time to see the swordsman thrust at him. James spun in just barely dodged it. He ran forward, to finish it, but he was stopped in his tracks.

He looked down at his chest, where the blue sword was thrust in, gleaming in his own blood. The man laughed and slowly pushed the sword in deeper. James fought back a scream, trying to grab the blade and pull it out. He reached into his shirt, looking for something he could use. He hand searched around, looking for runes, or anything. Finally, his finger hit something cool, and he felt the same gut wrenching experience he had before.

He was teleporting.

"James!" yelled Mark, who had stopped to watch what had just happened, that he didn't even notice the archer knock an arrow and hit him in the shoulder. He spun around from the force of the hit and grabbed his shoulder.

"Triux, Majaerin, we are done here." said the swordsmen. The others nodded, and all three withdrew rune stones. They said an incantation, and before anyone could stop them, they teleported away.

"What happened to James?" asked Merk, who had just made it over the edge.

"Well, assuming I'm correct, his finger accidentally slipped into the ring of life he stole from me awhile back."

"Ring of life?" asked Danik. "Isn't that the ring that teleports the wearer to safety when they are near death, healing them completely?"

"That is the one," replied Urantan.

"Where does it bring you?" asked Mark.

"To the city where you were born," replied Urantan.

"So James is back in Lumbridge?"

"No," murmured Urantan, who slowly closed his eyes, a tear forming on his cheek


	9. Chapter 9: The Past Revealed

_You may have noticed some heavy revisions, and the loss of four chapters. I combined a few chapters, because they were too short to stand alone, and could easily be added on to other chapters. I've been cleaning a few other things up, and plan on editing this even more, like fixing some mistakes, before continuing._

**Chapter 9: The Past Revealed**

"What do you mean 'no'?" exclaimed Mark. Merk and Danik stared at Urantan dumbfounded.

"Come, we need to consult Juna," replied Urantan softly before turning around. The others followed obediently, trusting their questions would be answered in a moment.

They could just barely make out the giant serpent from where they were. There also seemed to be something else there, it seemed to be a giant stone basin, a faint greenish glow emanating from it. As they got closer, they could see she was talking into it, just barely a whisper. The responding voice however was much louder.

"… an honor. We will do as you say. Yes, yes, we know. I will tell him. All right. I must leave."

Juna looked up at them as Urantan sat down in front of her. The basin had stopped glowing and Urantan could see the green liquid inside it swirling around in a perpetual spiral. The others followed Urantan's example and sat in front of Juna, bowing their heads until she spoke.

"I have just commanded the druids, is there more you seek?"

"I must ask if you can bring us to Ardougne." Replied Urantan. The others looked startled, but didn't say word.

"Where is the other one? The one who wears our clothes?" asked Juna, lifting up her head to peer at the group.

"This is why we need to get to Ardougne. If I tell you a story, will you take us, I'm afraid I still don't know if I have the power to get all of us there."

Juna tipped her head down into the bowl, submerging it completely. The surface began to shimmer, and as she lifted her head, the liquid within began to swirl into some sort of picture. As it solidified, Urantan could make outw hat could only be the city of Ardougne.

"This is the city you wish to go to?" asked Juna. Urantan peered over into the bowl, then quickly reeled back. Tears fell down his cheeks freely.

"Tell me a story," whispered Juna.

------------------

James screamed in pain as his body went through the sensation pf being torn a part and squeezed into a liquid. After only a few seconds, he fell to the ground, flat on his back. He breathed deeply, refusing to open his eyes. He slowly lifted a hand and felt his chest, already cringing thinking of the gaping hole he was about to find. He continued to scan his chest, but felt no wound. He peered one eye open, and saw that his clothes were torn, but not a single wound was on him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he slowly sat up.

"Looks like we got a live one here?" said a voice from behind. James opened his eyes completely to see a Burthorpe soldier, claws gleaming with fresh blood. "Nice clothes. I think I'll take 'em!" yelled the man, charging at him. James just barely had enough time to roll out of the way before he jumped up. He only had the claw on his right hand, and he was tired from the last encounter. He continued to breathe heavily as he turned to stare at the man, who was surprised James even had the energy to do this, and more surprised when he spotted the claw on his hand.

"Heh, even if you use our weapons, there's no way you could use 'em better than us!" He charged again, extending his left arm. James quickly side stepped, and grabbed his arm, throwing him to the ground. He went to finish him, but the man swerved and kicked James, knocking him off his balance. James put his hands out to break the fall, and used his momentum to roll forward. He got up and turned around to face the man, who was now standing.

Neither said a word. Both of them were studying their opponent, trying to find a weak point. After a brief moment, the soldier charged again. He brought his left claw down on James, how used his own right claw to block it. The soldier attacked with his right hand towards James stomach, who grabbed his wrist and held him there. They stood deadlocked, trying to push back the other. When James could finally tell the man had put all his concentration on beating him, he swept his leg into the man, knocking him to the ground. James quickly brought his claw upon the man's throat, who coughed up blood in a fit of pain, until his body couldn't take the strain anymore, and gave up.

James said a quick prayer for the man to Guthix, and took his left claw to have for himself. Breathing heavily, he slowly walked around, trying to find somewhere safe. He had already deduced that he was in Ardougne, and figured finding somewhere safe would be hard. Buildings were burned to the ground or deserted. In the town square, the merchants' wares had been tossed to the ground and destroyed. Still, it seemed oddly empty. He figured that they had completely decimated this part of the city, and all the soldiers had moved on, except for a few who were looking for survivors. Not wanting to run into another soldier, or worse, a wizard, he found a building that looked relatively undamaged, and went inside, locking the door behind him.

He walked over to a chair beside the fireplace and fell into it, letting out a long sigh. He needed time to organize his thoughts. What the man had said worried him. He seemed surprised that James was alive. Ardougne must have already been defeated. He only hoped that when the druids got here, they would be able to take back what was left. Even if they did, James felt as if it was already too late.

------------------

"Well, as you've all probably guessed, James was born in Ardougne." began Urantan, taking a kerchief from his pocket and wiping his face. "I too, was born there, although the location of my parents, I do not know. My parents did not mean to have me, and they gave me to a wondering wizard, who named me. My stay at Ardougne wasn't long, the man soon returned to Yanille with me, so I could study magic. Still, I always had an odd attachment to the city of Ardougne, since it is technically my birthplace, and my parents are either there somewhere, or dead.

"I studied magic a great deal, and was a prodigy. I learned nearly all the currently known spells, which I admit were far fewer than today, at record pace. At the age of sixteen, I had already begun creating my own spells. By the time I reached twenty or so, I had done a great many expeditions for the guild, and had a healthy relationship with the wizards of the wizard tower, including Traiborn. By twenty-five, I had decided to buy a home in Ardougne, and continue my magical studies there, alone.

"I would often walk around the market in my free time, perusing the wares and searching for any type of magical oddity. It was on a beautiful summer morning when I struck a friendship with James' father, Jonathan. He sold all sorts of meat and fish, and I was a frequent customer of his already. Today however, he had piqued my interest with a stone statue head lying at his feet. I approached him and questioned him about it. He said some man had duped him into thinking it was valuable, and had traded it for a large amount of food. He had not been able to sell it yet though, and was nervous that he had been conned. I offered to buy it for a generous sum of money, and we became good friends after."

"Urantan could you hurry this up, we don't have time for this!" exclaimed Danik, eager to get to Ardougne.

"Relax child," whispered Juna. "I am interested, and your friend is strong. Guthix will guide him. Continue… Urantan."

"Right. Well. As I was saying, James' father and I became great friends. I'd stop by his stall every morning, whether I was in need of something or not. We'd talk a great deal; he was a very smart man. We'd often discuss philosophy and life. He knew a great deal of history as well, he said he originally had intentions of being a scholar, but the library burned down, and with it a lot of information. He spoke with a very rural accent, he had grown up on a farm south of Ardougne, but if you got past that, he was quite easy to talk to.

"Often we'd speak of personal matters. Well, not me, but he would, and I would offer the best advice I could. I remember when his eye first turned to James' mother, Amelia. I encouraged him to talk to her, and they fell in love. I was always good friends with her after that. After a few months or so, the two married, and had James. I remember the day he was born." Urantan closed his eyes and smiled, fondly thinking of old memories. "They had planned to have another child but…well… there was a group of wizards to the north. Nasty bunch, I had been forced to deal with them before. They were devout Zamorakians."

The group shared looks of disgust, all having a natural hatred of Zamorakians. Juna's expression remained unchanged.

"The group of wizards, which at the time was very large, marched upon Ardougne. Ardougne was not prepared for such an assault, and the wizards were powerful. The city was overtaken, the survivors were forced into hiding.

"I couldn't take it, so with the help of James' parents, I organized an escape. We stockpiled runestones and herbs that could make an energy restoring potion. It was slow going, the runes were expensive, and the herbs had to be found by hand. They were a very rare sort, I forget the exact name. I taught Amelia how to make the potion, and we slowly told everyone to meet at my house, being careful it wouldn't reach the wrong ears.

"On the day of escape, everything went according to plan. People slowly came to my house, and I teleported them to what was, at that point, an open field. I told them I would meet them there shortly with instructions. Jonathan would help people find my house and keep everything moving along, while Amelia would make the potion and give me some when I grew tired. There were times when I felt like I could not go on, but she helped me through it.

"We had high hopes, until we ran into a bit of bad luck. It turned out one of the Zamorakians had heard about it, and when we were nearing the end, a group of them closed in around my house. Jonathan took a small short sword I kept in my house and tried to fend the wizards off, although he was never much of a fighter.

"We teleported the last of the people to safety, until the only ones left were James and his parents. His mother peered out through the window, and saw that two of the wizards were dead, and James' father lying on the ground, wounded. Another wizard moved in with a stone dagger, ready to finish him off. Refusing to heed my warnings, Amelia charged outside and knocked the wizard to the ground. She told Jonathan to go, to take James, and not to worry about her. He was adamant about staying, but she told him that he had to. He nodded, and while crying, ran back inside. I had run out of the runes to teleport to the designated area, so I teleported him and James to Lumbridge, as I watched in horror as the wizards descended upon her.

"Although tired, I had to do something. I took my remaining runestones and charged outside. Quickly saying the incantation, I sent a bolt of lightning at the first wizard I saw. The last one turned to look at me, before he was hit with a giant fireball. James' mother crawled toward me, injured from a spell. I told her that I had no runes, or energy left, and that more would be coming, and that I surely had not killed the others. She had to run. Instead, she took out a tiny vial of liquid, the last of the potion, and gave me the last drop. I was given a tiny amount of energy, hardly any, but enough.

"I crawled to the first wizard's body, he had nothing on him. The second had runes that were of no use to me, but the third had exactly what I was looking for. I took the runes, and made my way back to James' mother. I grabbed for her hand, and we were teleported to the designated area.

"We were cared for, and treated like heroes. The area was west of Lumbridge, not far from Port Sarim. We decided to call the land New Ardougne, since it seems the wizards stole our wit as well. We set up a new settlement and a new life.

"Meanwhile, the rulers in the area had lately been staging holy wars against Zamorakians to distract the people from their poor leadership. The people, being foolish, bought into the idea of destroying any Zamorakian thing that moved, and some that didn't, instead of concentrating on the matters at hand. Ardougne was soon taken back, but instead of letting the people of New Ardougne settle back there, it was settled by the groups that overtook it. The wizards either fled north to the mountains, or on a ship, to a tiny island south of our village. In fear of the wizards attacking us, we changed the name to Draynor, after the mansion to the north.

"Amelia had nearly forgotten about her husband and son, and after so long, was too embarrassed to visit them. Instead she lived upstairs in my house, having never remarried; she could not afford a house of her own. For safety, since she helped staged the whole move, she changed her name to Jean Schism. She was the local gossip, and often spread rumors. Most of them were about me, for my safety. The wizards knew my name, and if they found out about me, I would be a dead man. She said that I was not the person they thought I was, the one who saved Ardougne. Instead I would just be known as a wise old man.

"Jonathan never even knew the location of Draynor was the same as the very place we began anew, he presumed Amelia was dead. He changed his last name to farmer and took up that profession, always being a simple man at heart. He would occasionally make trips to other lands for business as a habit, although he hardly ever bought anything, he just missed traveling.

"The people of Draynor went about their lives, although many of them eventually went back to Ardougne, and we slowly became a smaller and smaller village. After the recent attack, we are no more, although Lumbridge accepted us openly with the encampment in the swamps. That is also the real reason why James' father is allowed to be there, he is technically an Ardougne citizen. I'm guessing Amelia and Jonathan are speaking now, together again at last." Urantan ended the story with a smile, feeling as if he had played a big part in the somewhat happy ending. The credit he game himself was justly deserved.

"Your story has amused me. A perfect example if how history repeats itself, isn't it. I have seen it time and time again."

"If history is repeating itself, then we'll just beat them again," yelled Mark confidently.

"You have a hearty optimism, that is good, just be carefully not to be optimistic to the point of foolishness. As requested, I will take you to Ardougne When you are ready, dip your head into the bowl, Guthix's tears shall bring you to your location."

The group looked at each other and nodded. They weren't quite sure what they would do when they got there, but they knew it had to be done. Urantan went to put his head into the basin, but Danik stopped him.

"You can view the city with that right?" questioned Danik.

"Yes," replied Juna.

"Then I'll go first, and you should survey the area, that way if I go and… something happens, you won't all rush to the same fate."

"You are wise, it shall be done." said Juna. Danik took a deep breath, and plunged his head into the liquid. His body slowly melted, joining the liquid, until he felt like he was in a completely different world. Finally, he felt as if he was plunged into a tank of cold water, but the water wasn't wet. He took a deep breath, but found he could breathe fine.

He opened his eyes to find that he was in a swirling sea of green. He was carried by the currents, but felt as if he wasn't moving at all. Shapes formed around him, although he hardly recognized any of them. Men and women in clothes like James' hurried in a triangle formation, weapons in hand. A being that looked to be part man and part wolf clawed at the body of what looked like a young boy.

Then there were things he did recognize. Varrock and Lumbridge flew by, although they looked different, and he recognized none of the people there. And then, Ardougne. The buildings appeared before, him the whole city towering above him. Then, instead of the images disappearing, then crumbled, and burned. A road appeared below him, and he was gently brought down upon it. More and more of the destroyed city came to life, and solidified, unlike the other images. He reached for the wall of a building, and could feel it. More and more things appeared around him, and the world slowly appeared less and less green. It stopped swirling, everything stayed in one spot. And then, suddenly, as if he was dunked into another tank of water, he was in Ardougne.

------------------

The group watched as Danik was sucked into the bowl and disappear. Mark let out a gasp, and Merk stepped forward to touch it. Urantan pushed him back, wanting to see what happened first. The city of Ardougne appeared on the surface of the liquid, and a moment later, so did Danik. He stumbled around, as if drunk, for a moment, before he finally gained his bearings. Looking around, he finally looked up at the sky, so it looked as if he was staring at the group and shouted.

"It looks pretty clear, you can come." They let out a sigh of relief and dunked their heads into the liquid, going through the same peculiar experience. Before Urantan left, Juna spoke with him.

"You should come again, I'm sure you have many stories to tell."

"I would like to hear some of your stories someday; surely you have many of them." Juna smiled and motioned for the bowl. Urantan smiled in returned, and dunked his head in.

------------------

The group looked at the mass of destruction around them. There was hardly anything left of Ardougne. Fires burned around them and rubble littered the streets. Buildings were destroyed around them, and corpses were lying everywhere.

Trying to ignore the carnage, Urantan spoke first. "Alright, we're here, now what. James could be anywhere."

"Maybe we should split up," proposed Mark.

"I don't think so," replied Danik. "It's too dangerous around here right now; let's just explore the city a bit." They all agreed silently, and Danik led them. They walked around the streets, avoiding the debris as best they could. The city was eerily quiet, the only sound was the crackling fires around them.

"What's that?" exclaimed Mark, pointing ahead. As they grew closer, they saw a large group of Burthorpe soldiers. They were ambushed by a small group of militia from Ardougne, holding pitiful weapons and leather armor at best. The militia charged at them bravely, clumsily attacking the trained soldiers. The soldiers expertly dodged them, and defeated them in just a few blows. Most of them used the deadly claws that they had seen James use before.

"If that's the best Ardougne had to offer, I can see why they didn't stand a chance." stammered Mark. The others remained silent, until Danik whispered for them to turn around, and find another way.

"Who's that?" The group froze and turned around to see one of the Burthorpe soldiers had spotted them.

"What do we do!" shouted Merk.

"We run!" ordered Danik, turning around. The small group of soldiers, Danik guessed twenty-five or so, charged after them. They maneuvered around the alleyways, hoping the maze of buildings would help them get away. When they reached an area with multiple directions, Danik would make a split decision, and they would follow him.

Urantan chanced a look back to see that the soldiers had remained hot on their heels. Aggravated, he withdrew several runestones, and sent two giant boulders to the second floors of the buildings next to him. The buildings crumbled and stones fell, making an impenetrable wall within the alleyway.

"That should slow them down a bit," panted Urantan, stopping to catch a breath. He looked back, and heard footsteps above him. He glanced upward and saw that on both sides of him, there were soldiers. They were running horizontally along the walls, they're feet glowing.

"What's going on?" growled Mark, withdrawing his weapon. The others did the same as more soldiers ran along the walls to get over the pile of rubble.

"The wizards have been very helpful," one of the soldiers stated casually. He pushed off the wall to jump at Mark, claws outstretched. Mark used the flat of his blade to knock the man away, and charged at him, before he was caught by another soldier tearing at his side. The first soldier stood back up, only to be blasted aside by a wall of water. Mark looked to see Urantan panting heavily, clutching more runes.

Merk withdrew multiple throwing knives from his boot and tossed them at the soldiers. Two of them were hit and fell to the ground on the other side of the rubble, while the rest jumped forward. He withdrew his sword, desperately hoping the two he hit were knocked out from the fall. He had little time to think as one of the soldiers charged at him. Merk ducked the first swipe and jumped back to dodge the man's other hand, quickly severing it with his blade. The man lifted his arm and shrieked in agony, opening himself for Merk to finish him off.

One of the soldiers took out a tiny silver disk, with razor sharp edges, which he threw at Danik. Danik jumped to the side, and the disk flew to where he was just a moment before. Instead of embedding itself into the wall, however, it hovered in place for a moment, before letting out a sharp whistle and spewing out a giant circle of flame. Both Mark and Urantan were hit by the fire, and stumbled. Mark quickly regained his senses, but Urantan wasn't so lucky.

Shrieking from the burn, one of the soldiers descended upon him from the air. He came down, bringing his right claw into Urantan's stomach. Urantan fought back the pain, and instead held the runes in his hand tightly. Before the man could take his arm out of Urantan's stomach, a ball of energy formed where Urantan was stabbed. The ball grew, until finally the energy travelled from Urantan's chest into the soldier, completely obliterating his body.

"Urantan, are you alright?" yelled Danik, who was being pushed back by two of the soldiers at once. One tried to come at him from behind, but Merk rammed into him before delivering a finishing blow.

"I… I…" Urantan fell to the ground, grunting in pain. He tried to pick himself back up, and, with much effort, was able to get onto his knees. He looked up, and saw another soldier descending upon him, falling from the sky in a dive, claws pointed at him. He fell in what seemed to be slow motion to Urantan. Suddenly he was thrown against the wall, as if by some unseen force. Urantan looked closer and saw an arrow embedded in his head. Turning around, he saw a group of archers wearing Ardougne colors. The rest fired a volley of arrows, all hitting a Burthorpe soldier. The archers knocked another arrow, threatening to fire. The remaining Burthorpe soldiers jumped onto the walls and ran, going to report to the wizards. Urantan looked closer and saw another figure behind the archers.

"Hello Urantan." said the man, smiling.

"Hello Selian."


	10. Chapter 10: An Iron Fist

**Chapter 10: An Iron Fist**

"Help me up please. Thank you. Careful now. Alright then." Urantan took a few deep breaths as he relaxed a bit. Selian nodded approvingly as two of his men supported his old friend. The rest of what he presumed was Urantan's group did a quick check for wounds before coming over to offer their thanks. They still seemed a bit dazed, but they got away with nothing more than a few minor wounds.

"So how are you?" asked Urantan, smiling warmly to Selian.

"I've been better," replied Selian calmly. "You look awful though."

"Well that was a quite rude, albeit true. You're usually clean-shaven though, couldn't find the time?"

"No, I've been kind of busy lately, what with the attack and all." Everyone else exchanged confused looks, but Selian and Urantan continued to smile and exchange small talk. Selian had grown used to Urantan's unusual calm demeanor, no matter the situation, and had grown fond of speaking with him. It was much easier to relax, although he had to admit that sometimes the situation wasn't one for relaxing.

"So were are we going?" asked Mark impatiently.

"Excuse me?" asked Selian, obviously a bit put off from being interrupted. Selian's men began to tense up a bit, causing Danik and Merk to back up.

"Sorry, he's young, and a bit hasty. I was getting up to that though, where do you stay? Obviously not in the streets." As Urantan asked the question, the soldiers turned to Selian expectantly. This was a tightly kept secret amongst them. There were many of the group even, who didn't know the exact location. Selian sighed and looked back at Urantan. He sized him up and moved on to the others, trying to tell how trustworthy they were. After a long moment, he began to speak, before being interrupted.

"Sir, surely you aren't going to actually tell them!" protested one of the soldiers. The other soldiers declared their agreement, which produced a flurry of words and argument, mostly going back and forth between the soldiers and Mark. Mark was slowly becoming a bit more pressed to find shelter, as he was almost sure he could hear footsteps not far off. Selian raised a hand, which immediately quieted the crowd.

"Let us not forget what Urantan has done for this city, over the many years. I think he deserves this. I trust his friends equally, and I suggest you d-"

"Sir!" Selian swiveled around to see one of his men marching towards him, pushing a Burthorpe soldier in front of him. "I found him resting in the house right there. He's obviously a Burthorpe soldier."

"I'm not a Burthorpian," complained the young man. Selian walked up and lifted his face. It was battered, bruised, and dirtied from what could only have been recent bouts. Dried up blood covered his cheek. Selian stared directly into his eyes, trying to decipher the truth.

"James!"

"You know him?" exclaimed Selian, glaring at Mark. Mark ignored Selian, and he instead ran to James, followed by Danik and Merk. Urantan decided he was better off staying put but smiled at him nonetheless.

"Hey, how did you guys get here?" asked James, who had found a bit more confidence, enough to push Selian back a bit and give himself more space. Selian's men held their weapons readily, and even Selian himself was a bit taken aback, although no one seemed to notice.

"Well," began Urantan, "We knew you were here, so we came here ourselves. Juna arranged for transportation, of course. We were then ambushed, and saved by the lovely people who meant to torture or kill you, with no justification. And now, well, here we are." He finished the statement smiling happily, although the soldiers looked a bit unnerved that not only was there a Burthorpian in their midst, they were being ridiculed for wanting to kill him. They looked at the ground for a bit, before looking at Selian, hoping he would have a good retort.

"Why do you seek friendships with Burthorpians?" asked Selian at last. The other soldiers nodded or grunted in agreement with their captain.

"He's not a Burthorpian!" yelled Mark. Urantan nodded to emphasize the point.

"Surely you are mistaken!" yelled one of the soldiers, who was again met with grunts of approval.

"I can assure you myself," said James, "That I am not from Burthorpe. I am a druid from the town of Taverly, a short ways to the south of Burthorpe. If you look closely you will see that my clothes are green, not black traditionally worn by Burthorpians. The Burthorpians took their idea from the garb of the ancestor druids, which I wear now. The only difference is they changed to black, presumably for stealth missions." James recited almost exactly as Hajex had told him to say while he was still in training, if anyone asked him. The soldiers weren't quite sure how to respond, and Selian merely looked at Urantan for his approval. Urantan gave a slight nod.

"He speaks the truth," declared Selian, who hardly cared anymore, nervous for their general safety out in the open. "I think it's time we go back."

"Back where?" questioned James.

"Follow us, and carefully. We don't want to have to fight when we don't have to," said Selian, ignoring the question.

He led the way, with a first line of soldiers right behind him. Next were James, Mark, Danik, Urantan, and Merk, followed by the rest of the men. James continued to ask questions but Urantan persisted that he wait until they reach a shelter of some sort. At last they entered a decrepit building close to the southern gate; very similar to the one James had been in previously. The walls were damaged or holed and the shutters hung limp at the side. Oddly enough, the windows themselves were clear and polished. The door was also locked, needing a weak spell to open. Selian directed everyone in, following everyone else behind.

The inside was very similar. Rubble was piled in the corners and dust fell from the ceiling. The stairway was completely destroyed somewhere around the tenth step onward, with the previous steps hardly looking strong enough to step on. In the kitchen area the dining table was smashed to pieces, accompanied by something James could relatively recognize as broken chairs. The fireplace was filled with bricks, a torn book and blood next to a rocking chair set beside it. The blood was the only sign of a fight, or murder; the body was no were in sight. James could picture a man sitting there, enjoying an afternoon read, when his house was stormed. He had no defense. He had no way of fighting back.

Those who hadn't seen the building before were having the same reaction. Selian, however, calmly walked over to the fireplace and began pulling out the bricks and rubble. He carelessly threw them across the floor in back of him, working diligently to pull them out. Another soldier took the bricks and piled them neatly nearby. When Selian was done he turned around, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Let's go." He turned around and sat down, looking at the fireplace. He moved forward, legs outstretched, before they disappeared. A moment later he completely vanished, climbing down the long ladder that led into the depths. The higher ranking officers followed. Next were the lower ranking soldiers, ecstatic at the honor of knowing the location. One stayed behind, pushing James, Mark, Merk, and Danik in, although he was a bit gentler to Urantan.

James descended as fast as possible, not comfortable with the tight dark space. It seemed to go on for awhile and he was not happy with hardly being able to see in front of him. This problem was made worse when the soldier who had pushed them in covered the fireplace with bricks again, cutting off the only light source. The others voiced no complaints, but he couldn't tell if that meant they were okay with it or they just wished to remain silent.

The ladder itself was painful; nearly each rung gave him splinters. He spent nearly three minutes finding a good way to climb comfortably with his claws, until finally he decided that he would have to hold them in his mouth. He fought back the fear that he would cut his mouth to shreds and continued to climb down. He was too busy being afraid that he was going to get stuck in the small passage.

Finally his foot found, instead of a new rung, the hard surface of a stone floor. Overcome with joy, he dropped down and looked around. He put the claws back on his wrist and began feeling the wall. After

some time in the darkness, he found a passageway to follow. He moved forward slowly, his arms outstretched before him. After a few twists and turns, he could see a light.

The light was coming from their goal, the large cavern that held the encampment. Tents were lined in rows with random opened areas for fire pits and sparring areas. Farther down was what James presumed was the civilian area. It was hard to tell because only a handful of people were out and about. They just seemed to wander around dejectedly with no purpose.

"Welcome to the Ardougne Revival Center," declared Selian, obviously proud of what he had accomplished.

"How…How did you do this in such a short time?" questioned Urantan, looking at it in awe. Selian pointed off in the distance where James could faintly make out what looked like a large wooden box on wheels.

"We struck a bit of luck. Long ago the dwarves had this connection to Ardougne in hopes of owning the land. Eventually they found this cavern was too small and didn't suit their needs. They left, but the mine cart still remains, which can bring us to one of their small villages. We sent a party there and asked for help. They generously gave it, claiming they hoped to get rid of the threat we have here. I suspect they will want some sort of payment afterwards, but it was the only way." He seemed lost in thought after this, and there was silence for a moment.

"So, now what?" asked Mark, looking around.

"Follow me," replied Selian, heading for what seemed to be one of the largest tents. They entered to be greeted by two soldiers who were guarding it. They did a quick verification check before standing again at the door. "You're dismissed," said Selian, hardly giving them a glance. They nodded and left silently.

The tent was bare. A sleeping roll was off to the corner with a few personal items next to it. A small table was beside that, atop it a clay plate with only a few bread crumbs and half a wedge of cheese. A full suit of armor was on a stand, a long sword made of finely polished steel was propped against it. In

the center was a larger table with a detailed map of Ardougne and a few drawing instruments. This was where Selian was, and the rest of them followed.

"Most of the enemies are here," explained Selian, pointing to the castle situated in the center of the city. "There are about one hundred troops stationed in the castle itself, with a ring of soldiers surrounding it. Other soldiers guard the pathways leading to it, with sentries making regular intervals to the very outskirts of the city, going as far as the first sign of wilderness outside. We have made three successful trips to the surface, including the most recent one. The last one was the most daring, it was the only one in which we actually engaged in combat. The other trips were only to gather information."

James, Mark, and Merk stared at the map, trying to understand. Urantan decided to stay a little further off, thinking. Danik, however, was studying the map intensely, trying to formulate a plan.

"And how many soldiers do we have left here?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the map.

"We estimate a total of sixty eight. We must keep at least twenty soldiers stationed here at all times, lest this place be ambushed and the civilians hurt. This is the main reasons why we have tried nothing. That and the fact that they have all entry points guarded. We can do nothing but a few small scouting trips."

Urantan stepped up to the map, pushing James out of the way. "This is the house we entered to get down here correct?" he asked, pointing to the paper. Selian nodded. "Good. If my calculations are correct, we should be somewhere around…" Urantan moved his finger around, trying to make an exact calculation. "Here," he said at last.

"Almost, more closer to here, the last turn was west, not north," corrected Selian, pointing to the correct location.

"Of course. So that means that if you went to the end of the cavern you would only be a few meters from being under the castle. Can we not enter it from there?"

"The castle isn't built like the one of Lumbridge, there is no underground entrance. That is viewed more as a design flaw than anything."

"Then we make our own," replied Urantan. Selian seemed uneasy about the idea.

"If we could take the castle from under their nose, it would give us a huge advantage!" exclaimed James, trying to convince the captain.

"Am I the only one who remembers the hundred soldiers in the castle waiting for us?" asked Mark. James deflated, but Urantan seemed indifferent.

"We have no choice, do we? It has to be this way."

"I say we take about twenty five men with us, and do our best to storm the castle. We have the element of surprise, and if we cans stay silent, we can overtake them all slowly," posed Danik.

All eyes were on Selian. He had the final say. No matter what they though, if he wanted it, they would do it, as would any of the other soldiers here.

"Urantan, you better get tunneling. Everyone else, we have some preparations to make."

--

"We may have run into a bit of a… problem," stated a young man. He was of slim build and clad in black. He was at one knee, speaking to a wizard of considerable power. The wizard was glancing at his finger nails as he addressed the problem, sitting in the regal throne of the former Ardougne King. He acknowledged the messenger, motioning for him to continue.

"A soldier has reported a small skirmish near the outskirts of the city, a handful of Burthorpians were attacked by a few remaining rebels."

"And what is the problem, exactly?" asked the wizard, not even bothering to look at the messenger.

"The rebels won." This seemed to get the wizard's attention. He quickly stood up, glaring at the messenger as his hand began to glow bright blue.

"And tell me that you found and destroyed these rebels afterwards!" he bellowed, his voice echoing in the large halls.

"Actually, sir, they disappeared, we cannot trace them. We ha-" Before he could finish the statement the wizard had become overcome with rage. He swung his hand, hitting the messenger square in the face. The soldier was thrown across the room, sliding over to the door.

"Find them, and do not return with bad news again!" The soldier got up, his face streamed with blood, and ran out of the room. The wizard approached the window and peered out, trying to decipher the location of the elusive Captain Selian who had defied them openly twice now.


	11. Chapter 11: Bells

**Chapter 11: Bells**

James awoke early the next morning. He was given a small bedroll to sleep on like everyone else. The mat wasn't particularly comfortable. He spent most of the night tossing and turning; worrying about tomorrow, the future in general, and the bugs that must have been crawling within his blanket.

Other soldiers seemed to already be preparing for the awaiting battle. A mixed bunch of men were being given orders by Selian. Danik stood proudly next to him. Having already proven to be an asset in the planning of the battle he had gained Selian's respect.

"Should you succeed today," James heard Selian say as he approached the group, "You will all be remembered as heroes. You will have been a part of the force that took back Ardougne. You will have given it back to the people! The bards shall sing songs of your deeds for years to come. Do not fear the coming day. Embrace it!" As he ended cheers broke out amongst the men and civilians in the cavern. It seemed like a feeble hope to cling too in James's eyes. Odds were certainly against them.

James decided to instead look for Urantan. As he wandered around, he got a look at the people the soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives for. Mothers tried anxiously to calm their children. Children who were scared their father was going to die, and children whose fathers already had. Men who had returned from battle with no family waiting for them. Young boys who could barely hold a sword ready to rush into massive groups of enemies. It was a bit too depressing.

James finally found Urantan, who was carving out the last bit of the tunnel, which was nearly perpendicular with the floor. A rope ladder was sitting coiled up not far from him. This was really about to happen.

"Urantan, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," he replied, not glancing away from his job.

"Why did the ring bring me here?"

"I knew I would have to tell you this sooner or later. Come, sit down." Urantan looked away from the tunnel, sitting down on an oddly smooth rock next to him. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brown and motioned for James to sit next to him. He took a deep breath and gazed at James. He wasn't quite sure where to start.

"The ring of life, as it's called," he began, pausing to plan out his words, "Is designed to return the owner to the place that they were born when they are in a critical condition. You had been gravely wounded, and you happened to touch the ring. It teleported you here and healed your wounds."

"I don't understand," said James. His home was Lumbridge. He certainly didn't know these people or this place.

"I wouldn't expect you too. However, it is time for you to learn." Urantan told him the whole story, from start to finish, just as he had told Juna what already felt like a lifetime ago. The snake's ominous word's echoed in his head.

_History repeats itself. _Strangely enough, the Ardougnians were trying a similar tactic that lost the city to them twice. Storm the castle, incapacitate the ruler, and declare yourself ruler. Such a coup d'état is a morale killer amongst the people, and gives your military a sturdy platform to operate from, whereas the enemy is forced to hide and use weak and cowardly guerilla tactics to try to put a dent in the opposing force. With any luck, the wizards and Burthorpians will be reduced to even less.

"I… I don't know what to say," James murmured quietly, intent on staring at his feet. He just learned his entire history had been a lie. He always thought his mother had died of disease. He always though he was just born in Lumbridge. He thought he had a simple life that was completely changed. Fate was the one notion he had trouble comprehending when he was learning about Guthix. He was beginning to understand.

"Urantan," said James with a newfound strength. "I think we have to succeed today. It's about more than helping innocent people now. I feel like if we fail the people, I've failed myself."

"That's very noble of you. Your father would be happy to hear that. He too had a lot of devotion to this city. I'm sure, deep down, he still does. It lives through you." James smiled and looked out into the cavern again. He saw it in a new light.

While daydreaming, he and Urantan were approached by Selian and Danik. "Are the preparations almost complete?" Danik asked, inspecting the large hole in the ceiling.

"Yes. Now for the finishing touch!" Urantan pulled out a few wind runes and a few runes with a blue set of scales on the. He mumbled a few incomprehensible words as the rope ladder uncoiled itself and lifted up to a large rock jutting out at the top of the tunnel. The rope reached the rock and tied itself around, making several knots. An invisible force pulled down on the ladder with increasing force each time to check how much weight it could support. "Well that's that!" Urantan retrieved his kerchief and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. The work had greatly tired him.

"So that's it?" Selian asked in amazement. "The soldiers can just climb up?"

"In theory," replied Urantan. "The tunnel should lead to the cellars beneath the servant's quarters. The servants quarters are located next the prison cells, which we'll travel through on our way to the back stairwell. From there will go through the private dining hall and into the throne room. Pretty routine."

"These things are never routine," remarked Danik, shaking his head.

"There's a first for everything," said Urantan with a smile.

Selian cracked a quick smile before hiding it. He of all people had to be serious. He shouted for the men to come to the tunnel. Five men approached, including Mark and Merk. Although they would have been able to bring more soldiers, Danik pointed out that for the time of attack they were planning; larger numbers would only slow them down. Instead they gathered up the best fighters they could and made a small but elite group.

"Well, this is it." Everyone remained silent as Selian began to talk again. "You've heard the speech already. It's time for Ardougne to belong to the people again! Mortii, you'll go up first. If it's clear, tug up on the ladder three times. If it's not safe, tug only once." The man named Mortii nodded to show he understood. He tugged a bit at the ladder to see if it could hold his weight, and then began the ascent. It seemed to take awhile, but Mortii eventually disappeared at the top of the tunnel. His disappearance was soon followed by three powerful tugs. A sigh of relief was released simultaneously amongst the group.

"So far so good," said James as he began the climb. A few men followed behind him. He once again carried his claws in his mouth, now in fear of accidently cutting the ladder. He reached the top and pulled himself over the edge of messily broken brickwork. The cellar seemed to be primarily for storage. Sacks, barrels, and crates filled the room from floor to ceiling filled with non-perishables such as grain and dried meat, as well as tools like hammers and rakes. It was eerily quiet amongst the group as they waited silently for the rest.

One by one more men reached the basement, until Selian finally poked his head up. That was everyone. They sat in silence for a long moment. James slipped the claws on his hands as other men withdrew their swords. There was no more waiting. Danik decided to take the lead, approaching the staircase up to the first floor. He came to the wooden door and eyed it for a long time. The rest of the men filed up behind him. He took a deep breath and pushed it open.

On the other side of the door was a wizard, staring directly at them. "My my, how predictable. I thought you were better than that!" The wizard began an incantation, but didn't get a chance to finish. Danik had already stabbed him in the chest.

"So much for a stealthy in an out!" declared Danik. As he said this, two Burthorpian soldiers approached the group. Danik rushed one, knocking him over, only to be finished by Mark. Merk and James dispatched the other one quickly. They hardly had a chance to react.

They rushed through the servant's quarters in great haste. The rooms were dimly lit, but completely empty. It was obvious the wizards had been waiting for them and set up patrols. Where they were now was a mystery. Most of the wizards and Burthorpians approached them in groups of two's or three's and were easily taken care of by the group of nine. They made their way through the prison hardly giving it a second glance and rushed up the stairwell.

They charged through the empty dining hall and made it to the opposite door before hearing a voice. They turned around to see a large group of enemies at the opposite side of the dining hall. The wizards in the front immediately withdrew some runes.

"They're going to close the door!" shouted Urantan recognizing the spell immediately.

"You go on ahead then!" yelled Merk. "We'll stop them from following you." Mark and the other soldiers nodded, motioning towards the exit. Urantan, Danik, Selian, and James ran out the door as it shut behind them. Shouts and battle cries could be overheard, but they had to press onwards.

They rushed down the hall way towards the throne room. The chamber was once again barred by large golden double doors. Danik and Selian continuously rammed into them. After the third charge, the doors busted open, revealing a lone figure. The wizard Haikor sat once again on the throne, in the same position Urantan found him before, eating an exotic fruit.

"How nice of you all to visit," he said, wiping his chin. He got up from the chair and approached them, slowly. "You really are predictable. I was truly hoping you would make it here too. I feel like we didn't get to truly battle last time. Let's fix that." As Haikor said this, the golden doors slammed shut.

"You really think you can take all of us!" James yelled, ready to charge.

"I really don't plan to. I'm sure Urantan has enough honor to accept my duel. Don't you Urantan?"

"Urantan you don't have to!"

"Yes I do. I need to prove to this man that he is truly a failure in magical ability who has succumbed to greed, and has let it blind him, like all the wizards of the Draynor Tower. The only way to teach him that lesson is to have a true wizard teach him. Ready yourself!"

Haikor laughed at Urantan's speech and produced an assortment of runes from his robes. After a quick incantation, the suits of armor that decorated the walls came to life, hurling their spears and swords at Urantan. Before the spell was even finished however, Urantan had cast one of his own.

Urantan moved like a blur, dodging all of the projectiles. He moved with a speed and grace that James had never seen in him before. Haikor cast another spell, causing two pillars to hurdle towards Urantan in opposite directions. Urantan jumped in the air to avoid them as the two collided. A third one headed towards him straight on. He jumped and ran on top of it. He began to pick up speed as he ran. Just before he reached the end of the pillar, he burst into flames. He paid no attention to it, but instead jumped towards Haikor.

He landed on top of Haikor, bringing him to the ground and burning him. Haikor bellowed, emitting a blue light from his body. The fire dissipated as Urantan was thrown across the room. Haikor withdrew air runes, causing the chandeliers to blow furiously in the wind. Three crashed into the floor in a triangle around Urantan. They began to spin around him at ridiculous speeds, effectively trapping Urantan where he was. All Urantan could see before him was a golden blur. James tried to decipher what Urantan was doing. After a flash of light, he arose from the death trap, floating on the chunk of floor which he decided to take with him.

Urantan looked confident, although he was sweating and was obviously tired. Haikor, on the other hand, looked fresh and full of energy. Urantan pulled out another large assortment of runes. As he finished talking, vines from outside pushed through the windows and rushed towards Haikor. They grabbed on to his arms and legs and held tightly.

"Typical move Urantan. You seem to love controlling plants. Perhaps I should be teaching you a lesson about powerful magic!" Haikor had been holding runes all along, something Urantan failed to notice. He cast a spell that caused the vines to rush towards Urantan instead. Urantan tried to jump and dodge them, but the grace spell he had cast earlier was wearing off. The vines whipped around his arms and legs and dragged him to the floor. "Let's try this again!" The swords and spears hovered above the floor again, all pointing themselves towards Urantan.

"No!" Selian screamed, rushing towards Urantan. Urantan had closed his eyes, expecting the worst. Moments later, the weapons came down, blood splattering across the floor. Urantan opened his eyes.

"You never had the common decency to let your friends die for you," joked Urantan, who was staring at Selian in front of him. The weapons were stuck deep inside him.

"You… you were always the smart one," he said weakly. He immediately coughed up a large amount of blood. Urantan remained silent.

"How pleasant! Selian, the wasp I have been trying to crush for so long, has given himself to me, while Urantan is still as good as dead. What good fortune!"

"I'm not going to let this happen," Danik whispered. He withdrew is sword and charged toward Haikor, trying to get him before he could cast another spell. He ran across the room and slashed furiously. Haikor teleported across the chamber just as Danik attacked, causing Danik to swing at nothing but air. Danik turned around to see Haikor had teleported in back of him. He charged again. Haikor was amused at the little game, and continued to bounce around the room.

"Stop with this cowardice and face me!" Danik declared, already tired.

"If you wish," Haikor laughed. He withdrew a large amount of runestones, many of which James recognized as blood runes. He began quite a long incantation. Danik charged at him, but froze half way through. He could no longer move a muscle. Haikor continued to chant.

"Addo nex super h-" He was cut short. James had rushed from behind and got him in a bear hug. He used his arms to lift Haikor's arms above his head, than scraped at his hands to knock the runes out. Haikor couldn't move and had no way to cast a spell. His hands began to bleed profusely.

"What're you going to do, kill me?" he spat in disbelief. "You can't kill me. And then what. So you have control of the castle. There's still hundreds of men outside the city who'll take the castle back! You'll accomplish nothing."

"I'll be able to be happy, knowing there is one less insane wizard in this world," James said quietly. He brought his right claw onto Haikor's neck. He paused for a minute. After the silence, he said a prayer for Guthix, apologizing if killing this man went against his will. To James, it had to be done. When the prayer was finished, he pushed the claw inwards. Haikor began to cough blood and flail around. After a few moments, the movement stopped. James let him fall to the ground.

"What's that noise?" asked Selian. "It sounds like bells. Deep church bells."

James didn't understand. The room became eerily quiet as they all strained to hear the bells. James was about to say he heard nothing, when it came. A faint ringing, that grew deep and powerful.

"They're lovely," said Selian, who was slowly moving his head back in forth in time with them.

"But what do they mean?" asked Danik.

"I don't know," replied James. "Unless," James rushed to the window. He looked out towards the North Gate. Sure enough, a large gathering of men in white robes were there. The leader in front had his mouth open wide. From it came the powerful ringing. "The druids never like horns." said James happily. "They always thought that their arrival should be marked with beautiful bells."

"The druids are here? Why?" Selian wondered weakly. He was still in immense pain.

"We asked them for help. They are going to rid the city of the Burthorpians and wizards."

"We won then. We really won!" Selian began to laugh, ignoring the coughing fits. He was overjoyed. James glanced out the window again. The druids had begun battle, but the bells continued. He decided he wouldn't watch. He had seen enough death.

Danik slowly removed the swords and spears from Selian's body while James cut the vines around Urantan. Selian began to hum along with the bells as Danik propped him up against the wall so he could sit in a dignified position. James began to hum with him, as did Urantan and Danik. The chamber was quiet except for the quiet hums.

Hours later, James heard a voice down the hall. He and Danik readied their weapons. A group of men wearing white robes rushed into the throne room. James breathed a sigh of relief.

"Stand down!" called a familiar voice. James peered at the other end of the chamber. The approaching man was one James knew well. "James, my boy. Are you okay?"

"I am unimportant Hajex," said James, although he couldn't hide his smile. "How is the city?"

"Do not worry, from what we can tell, the city has been wiped clean. It is empty of wizards and Burthorpians. We have done our job. Guthix wills it."

"Thank you," said Selian, who began to stand. Danik rushed over and helped him up, supporting him. "The city belongs to the people once again."

--

The throne room had been restored beautifully in such a short time. The chandeliers once again hung from the ceiling, the statues once again had their weapons, and the pillars once again supported the roof. However, sitting in the throne was not a wizard or a man of noble blood.

Selian sat uncomfortably. He was getting old, and his wounds still hurt. He adjusted the crown on his head, trying to make it fit right. It seemed unnecessary, but he had been assured it was an important thing to have on at all times. The whole notion of him being the king was a strange one. He had no ties to the throne in any way. The kingdom was without any apparent heir, and the people decided Selian would be the best to rule. He wasn't sure how much he agreed, but he didn't want to disappoint the people, so he accepted the job.

James stood at his left side. He had become one of Selian's most trusted advisors. To Selian's right was the man named Mortii, who was now captain of the royal guard. James liked it here. Lumbridge always felt to him like the place where he lived. Ardougne truly felt like home. His father had also returned here. The kingdom paid him greatly for his past service, allowing him to retire with his wife.

James was a bit lonely though. Danik returned to Varrock. He was still a soldier of high position there, and that was where he was tied to. He said he would visit if he had the time, but James had a feeling he wouldn't. Mark and Merk had gone back to being travelling merchants. They were hoping to be done with fighting. They still made some stops to Ardougne, but they were few and far between. His mind would even drift off. He would remember Sakir. He'd come a long way since then. He hoped Sakir had forgiven him.

It was on this day, a month after the retaking of Ardougne, that Urantan had invited James for a drink at the local pub. Urantan was the only one who had stayed here; it was his home too afterall.

James entered the bar to see Urantan sitting at a table in the corner. He sat down and the two said nothing for awhile.

"Today is the day I leave," said Urantan, finally breaking the silence.

"Why?"

"We may have defeated Haikor, but he bested me. I told him that he was consumed by greed and that I would teach him a lesson. Had I been alone, I would've been dead. I've made some mistakes. I too have fallen to greed. I'm leaving to study, to hone my skills. I'm not good enough."

"Not good enough! You're one of the best wizard's in the world. You practically created the basic modern spell book yourself!"

"I've lost all ties with that Urantan. He truly was a great man. I'd like to meet him again. If I'm truly as good as you make me out to be, I'll be fine. Don't worry. For now, let us drink. Drink to our good health, and the good health of the kingdom!"

James was confused. Seconds later, a glass full of ale appeared before him. Urantan conjured one for himself as well.

"I'm doing better already," remarked Urantan. James laughed and joined him in the toast. He was finally truly happy.

--

_I'd like to thank all the dedicated readers over the long period of writing this. I'd also like to apoligize to those with questions that went unanswered. Me, being an idiot, didn't notice the reply button next to reviews until I no longer recieved any and it was to late. Oh well, I'm happy to know this is done, whether there's anybody reading or not._


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